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THE 

ANNALS 



or 



HARPER'S FERRY, 



FROM 



THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL ARMORY IN 
1794, TO THE PRESENT TIME, 1869. 

With Anecdotes of Harpers-Feirians, 



BY 



JOSEPHUS, Jr. 



HAGERSTOWN, MD. : 

DECHERT & CO., Printers. 

1869. 



Entered according to the Act of Congress in the yetjr 1869, by Joseph Barrt, 
in the Clerk's Office of the the United States District Court for the State of Mary- 
land. 









r R b] h' A K . 

This little volume has been wi-itten <it the solicitation of many Mends. 
Like its author, it has few pretensions to "style," and if it gets credit for 
truth the writer will be satisfied, as thnt is moie than mmy histories now-a- 
days receive or deserve. The oliject of its puhlicHtion is neither fame nor 
profit; for fond as the author mny i)e of tlie firstborn of his pen. he is not 
so blinded by parental affection us not to i-ee that it deserves neither. It was 
written for arauseniezit, and it is hoped, ihat with all its faults it may, to 
some extent, answer the same purpo.-e wi:li its readers. 

It may, however, be very useful as a bouk of referi nee, and in thk respect 
the author claims credit for his voliune. I b; received his information respect- 
ing all the Superintendents u[) to Mr'. Cl>we from tlie most reliable sources. 
From the commencement of that gentlem^m's administration the author saw 
for himself. 

If then, this little volume should give Muiuscment cr profitable information 
the author will be much pleased, and at all events hi' feels himself happy in 
the thought that while he mai/ hn i/KiMiied he cannot he disappointed. 

THE A.UTHOR. 

Ear pel'' s Ferry, March Sth, ISCA). 



THE ANNALS OF HARPER^S FERRY. 

CHAPTER L 
ITS iisrap.A.2sro^sr. 

Harper's Ferry, including Bolivar, is a town which before the 
war contained a population of three thousand, nine-tenths of 
whom were whites. At the breaking out of the war nearly all 
the inhabitants left their homes, some casting their lots with the 
"Confederacy" and about an equal number with the old Govern- 
ment. On the restoration of peace comparatively few i-eturned. 
Many colored people, however, who came at various times with 
the arnay from Southern Virginia have remained, so that the 
proportion of races is materially changed. The present popula- 
tion may be set down at sixteen hundred whites and four hun- 
dred blacks. 

The town is situated in Jefferson county, West Virginia, at 
the confluence of the Potomac and Slienandoah, at the base and 
in the very shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Balti- 
more and Ohio Rail Road crosses the Potomac at this place on a 
magnificent bridge, and the Winchester and Potomac Rail Road 
has its northern terminus in the town. The Chesapeake and 
Ohio Canal also is in the immediate neighborhood. 

The scenery around the pla(!e has long been celebrated for its 
grandeur, and Jefferson has immortalized it in a beautiful des- 
cription said to have been written on a remarkable rock that 
commands a magnificent view of both rivers and their junction. 
The rock itself is a wonderful freak of nature and is regarded 
with veneration l)y the inhabitants not only for this, but for a 
tradition among them that, seated on it, Jefferson wrote his 
"I^otes on Virginia." It is, therefore, called "Jefferson's Rock." 

On one side of the town the Maryland Heights and on the 
other the Loudoun Heights frown majestically, and imagination 
might easily picture them as guardian giants defending the por- 
tals of the noble Valley of Virginia. Between these two ram- 
parts, in a gorge of savage grandeur the lordly Potomac takes to 



AW"NALS OV ilAEl'KK's FERRY. 

Ills embrace the beautiful Sheiiandoali. Tliis is the scenery of 
which Jefferson said tliat a si2;ht of it was \vorth a voyage across 
the Atlantic, and no person with the least poetry in liis soul will 
consider his assertion extravagant. It is snpposed by many that 
the whole Valley of A''ii;o-inia wa^^ at one time a vast sea, and 
that during some convnlsion of natui'e the imprisoned waters 
found an outlet at this place. Be this as it may, it is a scene of 
awful sublimity and well desei'veft the many panegyrics it lias 
received from orator and poet. 

In 1794, during the administration of General Washington, it 
was chosen as the site of a National Armoiy. It is said that the 
Great Father of his country himself suggested it as the location, 
having visited the place in person. This is a tradition of the 
place, and if it be true, it is characteristic of the most sagacious 
of men. The water power is immense, some people supposing it 
to be the iinest in the world. The Valley of Virginia and that 
of Middietown, as well as the fertile plains of Loudoun, gave 
promise of an abundance of the necessaries of life, and perhaps 
with the eye of pi-ophecy he saw Rail Eoads penetrating the 
bowels of the Alleghanies, and transporting their then hidden 
mineral treasures to aid in the jtroposed" manufacture. In the 
year above mentioned Congress applied to the General Assembly 
of Vii-ginia for permission to pui'chase the site, and by a vote of 
the latter permission was granted to pui'chase a tract not exceed- 
ing six hundred and forty acres. Accordingly a body of land 
containing one hundred and twenty-five acres was purchased 
from the heirs of Mr. Harper, a former proprietor, from whom 
the place takes its name. This tract is contained in a triangle 
formed by the two rivers and a line running from river to river 
along what is called "Union Street." Another purchase was 
made of three hundred and ten acres from a Mr. Rutherford. 
This tract is that on which the village of Bolivar now stands. 
In some time after. Congress, desiring to obtain the benefit of the 
fine timber growing on the Loudoun Heights, and not deeming 
it proper to ask any further grants from the State of Virginia 
leased in perpetuity of Lord Fairfax, proprietor of "the Northern 
Neck," the right to all the timber growing and to grow on a 
tract of thirteen hundred and ninety-five acres on the Loudoun 
Heights, immediately adjoining Harper's Ferrj-. 



ANNALS OF HARPER S FERRY. 



Thus prepared the (lovernment commenced the erection of 
shops, and in 1Y96 a Mr. Perkins was appointed to the Superin- 
tendency. He is represented as having been an amiable, unsophis- 
ticated man, and tradition yet tells of his simplicity of dress and 
deportment. During his time nothing of moment occurred at 
the I'lace. The town was yet in its infancy with very few deni- 
zens, and as the period antedates the time of that venerable gen- 
tlemai, "the oldest inhabitant," little is known of what occurred 
at thai period. 

Mr. Perkins was succeeded in 1810 by James Stubblelield, a 
Virginian and a gentleman of the true Virginia stamp. His 
Superintendency was the longest of any in the annals of Harper's 
Ferry, haing continued from 1810 till 1829, a period of nine- 
teen years. Charges of a malicious though trivial kind having 
been brought against him a Court Martial was convened for 
their investigation, when he was honorably acquitted after a 
protracted trid. The proud Virginian, however, refused to con- 
tinue in his place. He had been a benefactor to the people and 
had been treated with ingratitude by many ; he had been honor- 
ably acquitted hj a military tribunal, (always the most rigorous 
of Courts) his honor w^as satisfied and he voluntarily vacated the 
place. 

In Mr. Stubblefield's time, about the year 1818, a gentleman 
of the State of Maing, named John H. Hall, invented a breech- 
loading gun, probably the first of the kind ever manufactured. 
He obtained a patent for his invention, and the Government, 
concluding to adopt the gun into their service, Mr. Hall was sent 
to Harper's Ferry to superintend its manufacture. Two build- 
ings on the "Island" were set apart for him, and he continued to 
manufacture his gun in these shops until 1840, when he moved 
to Missouri. After this period other buildings were erected on 
the Island for the manufacture of the Minnie Rifle ; but the 
place retained the name of "Hall's works," by which it was 
known in Mr. Hall's time. It was sometimes also called the 
"Kifle Factory." The reader wdll understand by the term "ar- 
mory," used in this work, the main buildings on the Potomac. 
Although both ranges of shops were used for the manufacture 
of arms, custom designated the one as "the armory" and the 



8 AKNALS OF HABPEe''s FEKRY. 

other was known by the title of the ''Rifle Factory," or "'Hall's 
works." 

Mr. Hall was the father of the Hon. Willard Hall, a member 
of Congress from Missouri, and at one time Governor of that 
State. He was a high-toned gentleman and a man af great 
ability. 

During Mr. Stubblefield's administration, in 1824, the "Bell 
Shop" of the armory was destroyed by fire. It got its name 
from its having the armory bell suspended in a turret which 
overtopped the roof. The origin of the fire was never discov- 
ered, but it is supposed that some sparks from a fire made in the 
yard for culinary purposes caused the conflagration. 

Mr. Stubbletield was succeeded in 1829 by Coloael Dunn. 
This gentleman had formerly been connected with a manufac- 
turing establishment at the mouth of Antietara Cree):. His was 
a melancholy history. He w^as a strict disciplinarian, and indeed 
is represented as having been a martinet. The severity of his 
discipline offended several of the operatives and he paid with 
his life a heavy penalty for his harshness. A yoang man named 
Ebenezer Cox, an armorer, having given him dffence for some 
breach of discipline he dismissed him from employment. It is 
said that Cox expressed contrition and made submission to Colo- 
nel Dunn who in \'iolent language refused to be appeased, and 
displayed great vindictiveness by threateaing with expulsion 
from the armory any operative who should shelter Cox in his 
house. Cox was an unmarried man and liad no home of his own, 
and consequently this threat of the Superintendent caused him 
great distress. Thus driven to despair, Cox armed himself with 
a carbine and presented himself at the office of Colonel Dunn 
about noon on the 30th day of January, 1830. What conversa- 
tion took place is unknown, but in a few moments a report of 
fire arms was heard. People rushed into Colonel Dunn's ofiice 
and were met by his wife, who with loud lamentations informed 
them of the murder of her husband. The Colonel was found 
with a ghastly wound in the stomach. Life was just departing 
and no information could be got from him, Mrs. Dunn, it ap- 
pears, was in another apartment and knew nothing except the 
fact of the murder. Suspicion, however, at once rested on Cox 
and diligent search was made for him, when he was discovered 



ANNALS OF HARPEr's FERRY. 9 

in the "Wheel House.'' He made no resistance and he was im- 
mediately committed to Charlestown Jail. The body of Colonel 
Dunn was buried in Sharpsburg. There is a tradition that the 
day on whicli he was interred was the coldest ever experienced 
in this latitude. So severe indeed was tlie cold that it is thought 
to be of sufficient interest to be mentioned in the chronicles of 
the place. In the course of the following summer (August 27th) 
Cox was publicly executed near Charlestown, confessing his guilt 
and hinting at complicity on the part of some others. His as- 
sertion, however, M^as not considered of sufficient importance to 
form ground for indictment against others and there were no 
more prosecutions. This murder marks an era in the history of 
Harper's Ferry, and although many more important and thrilling 
events have since occurred there, this unfortunate occurrence still 
furnishes material for many a fire side tale, and the site of the 
house in which the murder was perpetrated is still pointed out 
as "unhallowed ground." 

General George Rust succeeded Colonel Dunn in 1830. For 
the seven years that he superintended the armory nothing of any 
interest is recorded. He was rather popular with the employees 
and many survivors of his time speak well of his administration. 
It may be that the melancholy death of his predecessor cast a 
gloom on the place which operated to prevent the occurrence of 
any stirring events. 

General Rust was succeeded in 1S37 by Colonel Edward Lucas, 
a Virginian. He M^as an exeedingly amiable, generous and good 
man, although tiery and pugnacious when he deemed himself 
insulted. He was extremely popular, and the writer well re- 
members in after years his bent foi-m walking or riding his mule 
along the streets of Harper's Ferry, lavishing kind expressions 
on old and young, and receiving in return the hearty good wishes 
of every one he met. The name of "Colonel Ed." was familiar 
as "a household word" at Harper's Ferry; and as he was re- 
spected in life so was he honored and lamented at his death, 
which occurred in 1S58, while he occupied the position of Pay- 
master. Xothing of importance is chronicled as having occurred 
during Colonel Lucas' Superintendency. We will remark that 
Colonel Lucas and his predecessors, with military titles, were in 
reality civillians, being merely militia officers, or getting their 



10 ANNALS OF HAEPER's FERRY. 

titles by courtesy. Tliis remark is necessary for understanding 
the . f ollowinoc. 



CHAPTER 11. 

Colonel LiTcas was succeeded by Major Craig in 1841. He was 
an Ordnance ctfficer, and of course, his education being military, 
he was inclined somewhat to that strictness of discipline which 
the most aimiable men in military life soon learn to exact of their 
inferiors, having been tauglit to observe it themselves towards 
their superiors. There were two classes of (tperatives in the 
armory — day-workers and piece-workers. By an order of Major 
Craig the latter were obliged to work the same number of hours 
as the former. This order was deemed unjust by the piece- 
workers, as tliey considered themselves entitled to the privilege 
of working whatever time they chose. They claimed remunera- 
tion only for the work done, and in their opinion it mattered 
little to the Government how many hours they were employed. 
The Superintendent thought otherwise, however, and hence arose 
a causa teterrhna helli. For a long time the contest continued, 
and at length, in 1842, a large number of the opei-atives char- 
tered a boat on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and proceeded 
to "Washington to see the then President, John Tyler. It is sup- 
posed that Jason and his Argonauts, when they sailed in quest of 
the Golden Fleece, and Ulysses in his somewhat tedious voyage 
home from Troy, encountered more vicissitudes than usually 
happen to those "who go down to the sea in ships ;" but those 
voyages were but pleasure trips compared with that of the ad- 
venturous Harper's Ferrians. So fruitful indeed was it in ro- 
mantic incidents and thrilling adventures that it will, no doubt, 
at some future day, form the theme of an Epic v;hen a Harper's 
Ferry Homer shall appear with genius adequate to the subject. 
Many a treacherous Scylla and Charybdis threatened them with 
shipwreck, many a Siren lured them to destruction, and in many 



ANNALS OF IIARPKR''s FERRY. 11 

cases, alas ! did the devoted manners succumb to their fascina- 
tions. Many a laughter moving, side-splitting story is related at 
the expense of members of the crew hj some of their companions, 
and on the whole this voyage marks a memorable era in the his- 
tory of the place. 

Arrived at length in A¥ashington, they obtained an audience 
of the President, who received them in a style worthy of the 
head of a great nation and a Virginia gentleman. Compliments, 
were exchanged and the President gave each of them a cordial 
shake of the liand, an honor which was duly appreciated, for it 
is related that one of the Harper's Ferrians, in a burst of enthu- 
siasm, readied out a hand of enormous proportions and dubious- 
color to meet that of the President, at the same time exclaiming, 
"Hallo, old Fellow, give us your Corn-stealer." Tliis handsome 
compliment was, no doubt, ver}- gratifying to the President, for 
he made them a speech in which he declared in the most em- 
phatic manner that he considered the working-men as the bone 
and sinew of the land, and its dependence in war or peace ; that 
he loved them as sucli, and that their interests should be his care. 
In this strain he contiuued fur some time, but he suddenly threw 
cold wMicr on the enthusiasm he at iirst created, by telling them 
"the;, must all go home and hammer out their own salvation." 
TJiis figurati^-e expression, and the allusion to that emblem of 
'. ulcanic labor, the hammer, were not received with the admira- 
tion which tlieir wit deserved. It is said that many loud and 
deep curses were uttered by some enthusiastic but indiscreet 
piece-workers, and that the august presence of "Tyler too," had 
not the effect of awing the bold navigators into a suitable respect 
for the head of the nation. They returned home wiser if not 
better men, and from that period dates the bitter opposition of 
many Harper's Ferrians to the military system of Superintend- 
ency, which continued until its final overthrow in 1854. This 
contest is the chief event in the time of Colonel Craig. 

He was succeeded in 1844 by Major John Symington, another 
military officer. Major Symington was an exceedingly eccentric 
man. His talents were undoubted and he got credit for many 
virtues, but eccentiicity was his leading characteristic. Flis voice 
was of a peculiar intonation and his gestures grotesque, but 
withal he liad a clear head and a good heart, and during his 



'o 



12 ANNALS OF HARPER S FERRY. 

administration many improvements were made at his suggestion, 
and the people were generally prosperous. The shops were re- 
modeled, and many believe that he did more for the prosperity 
of Harper's Ferry than any other Superintendent. Those who 
knew him best, assert that his eccentricity was pretense and as- 
sumed for the gratification of a latent vein of humor. On the 
whole, he is remembered with very kind feelings. 

In his time one of those exhibitions, rare at the time, but un- 
fortunately too common now-a-days, a prize fight, took place at 
Harper's Ferry. The notorious Yankee Sullivan and an English 
bruiser named Ben Caunt, met by appointment there in 1846, 
and treated the people to one of their brutal exliibitions. Caunt 
came to Harper's Ferry several weeks before the fight, and there 
he went through his course of training. Sullivan arrived the 
night before the fight, and with him came a crowd of shoulder- 
hitters, pick-pockets and every species of infamous character. 
To use a homely phrase, "they took the town," and until the 
fight was over the utmost terror prevailed among the inhabi- 
tants. Sullivan won the fight, but the exhibition broke up in a 
row. 

In the Summer of 1850, that fearful scourge, the Asiatic 
Cholera, made its appearance at Harper's Ferry and decimated 
the mhabitants. It is supposed that its ravages are generally 
confined to people of dissolute habits. It was not so in this case, 
for it visited the homes of rich and poor indiscriminately, and 
all classes suffered equally. It is estimated that over one hun- 
dred people perished by this visitation, and the town having been 
deserted by all that could conveniently do so, the business of the 
place sufi^ered severely. 

Major Symington was succeeded in 1851 by Colonel Benjamin 
Huger. His administration was not marked by any very impor- 
tant events. The excitement against the militar}^ system, that 
arose in the time of Colonel Craig, continued unabated. During 
Colonel Huger'sSuperintendency, in 1851, a sad accident occurred 
at Harper's Ferry. On the opening of the Baltimore and Ohio 
Rail Road from Cumberland to Fairmont, an excursion train, 
containing the principal officers of the road, proceeded from 
Baltimore to the then Western terndnus, Fairmont. A number 
of Harper's Ferrians determined to give them a salute as they 



ANNA1.S OF HAKPEr's FERKY. 13 

passed their station, and with this purpose they loaded an old 
12-pounder cannon which was kept at the armory for such occa- 
sions. Through some mismanagement there was a premature 
explosion, which caused the death of two colored men. One of 
them, named John Butler, was a veteran of the war of 1812, 
and was long a i-esident of liarper's Ferry. The other, named 
"Scipio," was, like Butler, an "institution" of the place. A third 
party, a man named James O'Loughlin, to whose want of fore- 
sight the accident is attributed, lost his life shortly afterw^ardfi 
by being run over by the Hail Koad cars in front of the ticket 
office. 

In 1852, on an order from the Secretary of War, the Govern- 
ment disposed of a considerable portion of its property at Harper's 
Ferry to employees of the armory. Many of them desired to 
purchase houses, and the Government deemed it politic to en- 
courage them in so doing. It insured a number of prudent, 
sober and steady mechanics for employment in the Government 
service, men who, having an interest in the place, would consult 
the well beintr of societv there and would feel the more attached 
to the government service. Many houses and lots were, there- 
fore, disposed of at a public sale in 1852, and at the same time 
many donations were made by the Government for religious, 
educational and tow^n purposes. 

In 1852 there was a remarkable inundation at Harper's Ferry. 
The Winter of 51-52 was exceedingly severe. From November 
until April the snow lay deep on the ground, and when about 
the middle of the latter month, there was a heavy warm rain for 
several days, the snow suddenly melted and an unprecedented 
flood was the consequence. The Potomac, swollen by a thousand 
tributaries, the smallest of which might, at the time, aspire to 
the dignity of a river, rolled in an irresistible tide and was met 
hy the Shenandoah with the accumulated waters of the whole 
Valley of Virginia. The town was literally submerged, and 
large boats were propelled with oar and pole along the principal 
streets. Much damage was, of course, done to property, but no 
loss of life is recorded. A similar inundation is chronicled as 
having taken place in 1832, and it is believed that every twenty 
years the town is partially submerged. It may be observed that 
C'olonel Hus;er afterwards became a General in the Confederate 



l4 ANNALS OF HARPErV FERKY. 

service, and obtained an nnenvial^le notoriety for mismanage- 
ment of the force nnder his command in the seven days^ fight 
before Richmond. . 

Colonel linger was succeeded in 1854, by Major Bell, who was 
the last of the military Superintendents. lie "reigned" but a 
few months, the Government having decided about the end of 
that year to change the system of armory Government back 
from military to civil. There was great rejoicing among the 
anti-military men, and a corresponding depression among those of 
the opposite party, for the military system had many fi-iends, al- 
though they were in a minority. 



C a AFTER III. 

Major Bell was succeeded, early in 1S55, by Henry W. Clowe, a 
native of Prince William Comity, Virginia, and a very worthy 
mechanic, who had been employed for many yeai-s before as mas- 
ter mill-^\Tight in the Armory. He was a man of a very impulsive 
nature, with all the virtues and many of the faults of such men. 
His temper was high, but he was generous to a fault; and never 
did Hai-per's Ferry enjoy greater prosperity than under his admin- 
istration. Whether tliis was o^ving to his good management or not, 
is a question which each man will decide according to his partiali- 
ties : but the fact of the prosperity of Harper's Ferry at that time 
is undoubted. Having been long associated with the men under 
him as an equal he had many difficulties to encounter to wliich a 
stranger would not be exposed. It is probable, however, that his 
greatest trouble arose from the intrigues of politicians. He had a 
quarrel with the then representative in Congress from the district 
in wliich Harper's Ferry is situated, and by his iniluence, or that 
of some other person, Mr. Clowe was removed, 

Dmlng Mr. Clowe's administration, in the Spring of 1856, a 
tragical occurrence took place at Harper's Ferry. T^vo men, 
w4iose names, for obvious reasons, we will not mention, had a 
quarrel, originating in drunkemiess, when one of them struck the 



ANNALS OF HAKPEr's FKRRY. 15 

other ^\•itll a four pound weight on the head, breaking his skull in 
several places. The womided man lay in a comatose state for some 
hours, when he died. The other party was arrested immediately 
and conveyed to -Charlestown Jail to await tiial. Having con- 
cealed a small pistol on his person he blew his OAni brains out 
in a few minutes after being lodged in jail, and his spirit arrived 
at the Great Judgment Seat ahnost as soon as that of his victim. 

In the Summer of 1858 (Jiuie lOth) a melancholy accident oc- 
cun'ed in the aimoiy yard, whereby Mr. Thomas Cmmingliam, a 
veiy worthy man, lost his life. A veiy cmious circumstance hap- 
pened in connection with this accident. The mishap occurred in 
the morning, and about 9 o'clock the wiiter of these pages was 
passing the amioiy gate, when he encomitered a very respectable 
citizen of the place, who in an excited maimer asked him if he 
had heard of any accident in the shops or yard. Having heard of 
none, the M^riter eagerly inquired what the other had heard. He 
replied that he had heard of no accident, but that he was certain 
somebody was or would be huil; that day, for he had seen in liis 
dreams the night before several men at work in a deep excavation 
in the armory yard, when he noticed particles of clay falling from 
the sides and a big rock starting to fall on the men. In his en- 
deavors to give notice to the parties in danger he awoke, and tliis 
was liis ground for behoving that somebody would be injm-ed that 
day. Politeness alone prevented the writer from laughing out- 
right at what he considered puerihty in his friend. He reasoned 
with him on the absm'dity of a belief in dreams and other super- 
stitions. While the}^ were yet talking, a man ran out from the 
armoiy in breathless haste and inquired for a doctor. On l)eing 
questioned, lie repHed that Mr. Ominingham had been crushed by 
a rock falling on him in an excavation he was making, and that 
Mr. Edward Savin also liad been badly hurt. Mr. Cumiingham 
lived but a few minutes after being injm-ed, and thus was the 
dream literally verified. Wliether this was merely a coincident or 
a psychological phenomenon, let eveiy one judge for liimself. 
There is high authority for beHe\ing that "coming events cast 
their shadows before," and the above, for which the writer can 
vouch, would certainly appear to confirm the truth of what every 
man believes in his heart, but few dare to assert, for fear of incur- 
ring ridicule. The circumstance convinced the wiiter that verily 



16 ANNALS C)F HAKPER's FERRY. 

there are many things transpiring daily which "do not enter into 
anybody's philosophy," 

Mr. Clowe was succeeded in Jannaiy, 1859, by Alfred M. Bar- 
bour, a young law^^er from Western Virginia, whose administra- 
tion w^as the most eventfril of all, as it was during that period the 
great Civil War broke out, which, it is well kno-\\ii, caused the total 
destniction of tlie armory works. Other remarkable events, how- 
ever, occurred in Mr. Barbour's time, wliich were precui-sors of the 
subsequent great evils, and foreshadowed the final catastrophe. 
These we will narrate in the next chapter. 

On the 28th of June, 1859, a fierce tornado swept over Harper's 
Feny. About 3 o'clock in the afternoon a thunder storm came 
up, and two clouds were noticed to approach each other, driven by 
two currents of wind from opposite directions. When they en- 
coimtered one another, a fierce flash of lightning, accompanied by 
an appalling tlnmder peal, lit up the liea%-ens. Rain poured down 
in cataracts, and as if yEoIus had suddenly released all his noisy 
subjects, the winds rushed from all quartei-s of the Ileavans and 
encomitered each otlier in the gap through which the Potomac 
finds its way to the Ocean. In the conflict a fine covered bridge 
that crossed the Shenandoah, about five hundred yards above itfj 
mouth, was lifted from its piers and completely o^■el'turned into tlit; 
bed of the stream. Mrs. Sloan, a respectable old lady happened 
to be on the bridge at the time, and, of course, was cari'ied with it. 
She was found sliortly after standing upright in a shallow^ place of 
the river, completely covered over with tlie debris of the wrecked 
bridge, but fortunately and miraculously she received veiy little 
injury. 



ANNALS OF HAEPER's FERRY. 17 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE BR-O^WlSr I^.-A.IID- 

Diu'ing the Summer of 1859 a party of strange men made their 
appearance at Sandy Hook, a small village in AVashington comity, 
Mar}'land, in the immediate vicinity of Harper's Ferry. Witli 
them was an old man of venerable appearance and austere de- 
meanor, who called himself Smith. They represented themselves 
as prospecting for minerals, and took fi-equent and long rambles 
with tliis ostensible purpose over the various peaks of the Blue 
Ridge Momitains. It has long been believed that in the earth be- 
neath the wild crags of the Maryland and Loudoun Heights, mmes 
of different metals and fabulous value are liidden, awaiting the 
eye of science and the hand of industry to discover and develop 
them. Several of the citizens of the place have fi'om time to 
time supposed they had discovered them, and no small excitement 
has been aroused at various times on tliis accomit. Specimens of 
different kinds of ore, or what were supposed to be such, were sent 
to Boston and subjected to chemical analysis, when very favorable 
reports were returned by the most eminent chemists and geologists 
of the Athens of America. No wonder, therefore, was felt at the 
appearance of this party, and their rambles over the toituous and 
difficult patlis of the mountains excited no suspicion. They at 
first boarded at the house of Mr. Ormond Butler, where their con- 
duct was unexceptionable. They paid in gold for whatever they 
purchased, and as their mamiers were com'teous to all they were, 
on the whole, veiy popular. After a few weeks' stay at Sandy 
Hook they removed to what is called the "Kemiedy Farm," about 
live miles from Harper's Ferry, on the Maryland side of the Po- 
tomac, where they estabhshed their headquarters. While at the 
Kennedy Farm, Smith and his party, among whom there were 
three of his sons, made themselves very agreeable to their neigh- 
bors, and they were as popular there as they had been at Sandy 
Hook. The father was regarded as a man of stern morality, de- 
voted to Church exercises, and the sons, with the others of the 
party, as good natured, amiable young men. Thus things (continued 
'till the night of Sunday, October 16th, 1859. On that night, a 
little after 10 o'clock, Mr. William Williams, one of the watch 



18 AJS'NALS OF HAKPEk's FERRY. 

men ou the Rail Road l)ridge, was surprised to tind liiinself taken 
prisoner by an araied party, consisting of about twenty men, who 
suddenly made their appearance from the Maryland side of the 
river. No exi:>lanations were given. The party then proceeded 
to the armory enclosure, taking Avith them their prisoner, leaving, 
however, two men to guard the bridge. They next captured the 
watchmen at the armory and took possession of that establishment. 
The party then di\dded themselves into two bodies, one remaining 
in the armory and the other proceeding to the Rifle Factory, half 
a mile up the Shenandoah, where they captured Mr. Sanmel Wil- 
liams, an old and liighly respected man, who w^as in charge of the 
buildings as night watchman. He was conducted to the armoiy, 
Avhere the other prisoners were confined, and a detachment of the 
strangers was left to supply his place. About 12 o'clock, Mr. Pat- 
rick Higgins of Sandy Plook, arrived on tlie bridge for the pur- 
pose of relieving Mr. William Williams, lie found all in dark- 
ness, and suspecting that something had gone wrong wdth Williams 
he called loudly for him. To his astonishment he was ordered to 
halt, and two men presented guns at his breast, at the same time 
telling him he was their prisoner. One of them undertook to con- 
duct him to the armory, but on arri^dng near the Yirginia end of 
the*l)ridge, tlie hot-blooded Celt struck his captor a stunning blow 
with his fist, and before the stranger could recover fi-om the effects 
of the l)low lie succeeded in escaping to Fouke's hotel, where he 
eluded all pursuit. Several shots were fired after him without 
effect, and he attril^utes his safety to the fact tliat his pursuei-s 
stumbled, in the darkness, over some cross pieces in the bridge. 
About this time a party of the invaders went to the houses of 
Messrs. Washington and Alstadt, living a few miles from Hai-per's 
Ferry, and took them and some of their slaves as prisoners, con- 
ducting them to the general rendezvous for their captives, the 
armory enclosure. From the house of Mr. Washington they took 
some relics of the Great Wasliington and the Revolution, which 
the proprietor, of course, very highly prized. Among them was a 
sword, said to be the same that was sent to General Washington 
by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, as a present (as an in- 
scription on it said) fi'om the oldest General of the time to the 
best. All through the night great excitement existed among such 
of the (citizens as became cooiiizant of these facts. About 1 o'clock, 



ANNALS OV UAKl'KK S FEKRV. 



19 



the eastern hound Express train on the Baltimore and Ohio Rail 
Road arri\'ed, in charge of conductor Phelps. The train was de- 
tained by order of the leader of the band and the telegraph wires 
were cut. The object of these ordeit? was, of course, to pre\'ent 
news of these proceedings being spread. The train was, however, 
allowed to proceed after a considerable delay. Wliile the train 
w^as at Harper's Ferny great excitement, of com-se, existed among 
the passengers, who were naturally astonished at these novel pro- 
ceedings. Several shots were exchanged between the attacking 
force and some parties unknown, but no pei-son was injured. 

Some time in the course of the night, Heywood Shepherd, a color- 
ed porter at the Rail Road office, walked towards the bridge, impell- 
ed, no doubt, by curiosity to understand the enigma. He was ordered 
to halt by the guards at the bridge, and being seized with a panic 
and running back, was shot through the body. He succeeded in 
reaching the Rail Road office, where he died, next day at 3 o'clock, 
in great agony. A little before day-light, some early risers were 
sm-prised to find themselves taken prisoners, as soon as they ap- 
peared on the streets, and marched to the armory. Among tlierti 
was James Dai-rell, aged about sixty years, the bell-ringer at the 
armory, whose duties, of coui-se, compelled him to be first at his 
post. It being yet dark he carried a lantern. Wlien near the 
annoiy gate he was halted by an armed negro, one of the invading 
party, and Darrell not dreaming of ^vhat ^vas transpiring, and mis- 
taking his assailant for one of Mr. Fouke's negroes on "a bender,*' 
struck him Avitli his lantern and consigned his "black soul" to the 
warmest climate he could think of. The negro presented a Sharp's 
rifle at Darrell, and, no doubt, the situation ctf bell-ringer at Har • 
|)er's Ferry armory would very soon have been vacant, had not a 
white man belonging to the party caught the gun and pre\"ented the 
negro fi-om carrying out his intention. Another white man of the 
party, however, came up and struck Darrell on the side with the 
butt end of his gun injurying him severely. Darrell was then. 
dragged before the "Captain," who, pitying his age and his bodily 
sufferings, dismissed him on a sort of parole. Mr. Walter Kemp, 
an aged, infirm man, bar-tender at Mr. Fouke's hotel, was, about 
this time, taken a prisoner and consigned to Limbo with the others. 

It was now daylight, and the armorers proceeded singly and in, 
parties of two and three from their ^-arious homes to work at the 



80 ANNALS OF HAKPER's FERRY. 

armory. They were gobbled up in detail and marched to prison^ 
lost in astonishment at these proceedings, and many, peiiiaps, 
doubting if they were not yet asleep and dreaming. Many of the 
officei*s of the armory were captured, but the Superintendent not 
being in town at the time, the invadei"s missed what, no doubt, 
would have been to them a much desired prize. About this time Mr. 
George W. Cutshaw, an old and estimable citizen, proceeded from 
his house on High Street to^vards the bridge in company with a 
lady who was on her way to Washington, and whom Mr. Cutshaw 
was escorting across the bridge to the place wliere the Canal packet 
boat, on which the lady intended to travel, was moored. He passed 
along unmolested until he disposed of the lady, but on liis return he 
encountered on the bridge several armed apparitions, one of them, 
an old man of comimanding presence, appearing to be the leader. 
Mr. Cutshaw, who is a man of "infinite jest," relates in the humor- 
ous manner peculiar to himself, how he, on first seeing them, took 
up the idea that a great robber}'^ had been committed somewhere, 
and that the tall, stern figure before him was some famous detec- 
tive employed to discover and arrest the robbers, while the minor 
figures were his assistants. He was halted, but being in a hurry 
for breakfast was moving on, when he recei^■ed another and per- 
emptory challenge. At last he impatiently said, "Let me on, what 
do /know about your robberies?" These were unfortunate words 
for him, as they gave the chieftain the idea that his party were 
suspected of an intention to plunder. Cutshaw was immediately 
marched off to the armory among the other prisonei*s, and the 
"Captain" kept a close eye on him all day. 

A little before 7 o'clock, Mr. Alexander Kelly approached the 
corner of High and Shenandoah streets, armed with a shot gun, 
for the purpose of having a shot at the invaders. No sooner did 
he turn the corner than two shots were fired at liim, and a bullet 
was sent through his hat. Immediately afterwards Mr. Thomas 
Boerly approached the corner with the same pm'pose. He was a 
man of Hurculean strength and great personal courage. He dis- 
charged his gun at some of the invaders that were standing at the 
Arsenal gate, when a shot was fired at him from behind the Ar- 
senal fence by one of tlie party concealed there. The bullet pene- 
rated his groin, inflicting a ghastly wound, of which he died in a 
few hours. 



ANNALS OF II.VRPEr's FERRY. 21 

The writer of these annals met with an adventure which, though 
it may have partaken of romance, of which he is very fond, was 
anything but agreeable. Partaking of the general curiosity to 
know what it was all about, he imprudently walked down High to 
Shenandoah street. He encountered four armed men at the Ar- 
senal gate — two white and two black. Not being conscious of any 
guilt he thought he need not fear anybody. The four guards sa- 
luted him ci%'illy, and one of the white men asked him if he owned 
any slaves. On his answering in the negative, the strangers told 
him there was a movement on foot that would benefit him and all 
persons who did not own such property. The writer passed on, 
strongly impressed with the idea that, sure enough, there was some- 
thing up. He then looked in at the prisonere, among whom was 
Mr. Thomas Gallaher, to whom he spoke. The leader of the 
party approached him and ordered him off the street, telling him 
that it was against militaiy law to talk to prisoners. ISTot conceiv- 
ing that he had any right to order him off so unceremoniously, and 
not being at the best of times of a very patient temper, the his- 
torian refused to comply, when a pistol was presented at his breast, 
which obliged him to "duck" a little and put a brick wall that en- 
closes the annorv' between him and the pistol. The "Captain" 
then called out to the same four men, whom the writer encomitered 
at the Arsenal gate, and who were not thii-ty' yards away, to arrest 
him. Not relishing imprisonment much more than being shot, 
our historian "dodged" up the alley- way that runs along the side 
wall of the armor}'. He saw the four men raise their Sharp's 
rifles to shoot at him, and in order to disconcert their aim he took 
a zig-zag course, wliich probably would not be enough to save him 
from four bullets shot after him in a nan'ow alley, had not aid 
came fi'om an unexpected quarter. And now for the romance : 
A colored woman, who was crouched in a door-way in the alley, 
rushed out between him and the guns and extending her anns 
begged of the men not to shoot. They did not shoot, and the 
present generation has not lost, and posterity will not be deprived, 
of this liistory, a calamity which their shooting would probably have 
entailed. The writer has always claimed great credit to liimself 
for presence of mind in thinking of the "zig-zag" under those 
ti^jang circumstances; but his friends malic io\isly insinuate that 
ABSENCE of body did more to sa\'e hini than presence of mind. 



JiXNi'S/llje Kif 



He takes coiisoiatioii to himself, however, by comparing himself to 
the great John Smith, the first explorer oi Virginia, who was once 
in an equally bad ''fix," and was sn\ed by the interposition of an- 
other dusky maiden. 

It was now breakfast time, and the Captain sent an order to 
Fouke's Hotel for refreslmients for his men. It is not Iviiowu 
what: the state of his exchequer was, but he did not pay for the 
breakfasts in any usual species of currency. He released Walter, 
familiarly called Watty Kemp, the bar-tender, and he annomiced 
this as the equivalent he was willing to pay. It is to be feared 
that Mr. Foulce did not duly appreciate the advantages he gained 
by this profitable bargain, and it may be that "Uncle Watt}^ him- 
self did not feel much llattered at the estimate put on liim, and his 
being considered an equivalent for twenty Ijreakfasts. Be this as 
it may, the bargain was struck and the grub provided. 

Up to this time no person, except the prisoners, could tell who 
the party were. To tlie prisoners, however, as was afterwards as- 
(jertained, the party confessed their puii)ose of liberating the slaves 
of Virginia, and. freedom was offered to any captive who would 
furnish a negro man as a rec-i-uit for the ''Army of the Lord." As 
t.heie was no communication allowed between the prisoners and 
their friends, the people generally were yet ignorant of the names, 
irambers and purposes of the strangers, and as may well be imag- 
ined, Madam Rumor had plenty of employment for her hundred 
tongues. Soon, however, they were recognized b}^ some as the 
mineral explorers, and suspicion at once rested on a man named 
Jolm E. Cook, who had been sojourning at Hai-per's Ferry for 
some years in various capacities, and v\-ho had married into a re- 
spectable family there. He had been seen associating with the 
Smith party, and as he had often been heard to boast of his ex- 
})loit8 in- tlie "Kansas war," on the "Freesoil" side, it was instinc- 
tively guessed that he and tiie Smiths were connected in some 
project for freeing the slaves, and this opinion was confimied by 
tlie fact of there being armed negroes in the party. Shortly after 
a new liglit broke on the people, and it was ascertained that the 
Captain was no other than the redoubta])le John Brown, of Kansas 
notoriety. About 9 o'clock the people had recovered fi-om their 
amazement and furnished themselves with arms. This was no 
easy matter, as the Arsenal and nearly all the store-houses were 



ANNALS OF HARPEk's FERRY. 23 

ill tlie possession of the eneiuy. It was recollected, however, that 
some time before, a lot of gnus had been removed from the place 
where they were usually stored, in order to protect tliem from the 
)-iver, which, at the time, had overflowed its banks and encroached 
on the armorv buildings. Enough was procured from this lot to 
equip a few small companies of cntizens, and a desultorv engage- 
ment (^ommen(;ed around the armory buildings and the ^djacent 
streets, which continued all day. The Rifle Factory was also 
attacked, and the party there "svere soon dri^'en into the Shenan- 
doah, where they all perished l\y the l>ullets of the (utizens or by 
drowning, except one, a negro named Copeland, who was taken 
prisoner. At the armory, however, where Brown connnanded in 
pereon, a more determined resistance w^as made. Brown had told 
several of his prisoners, in the course of the inorning, that he ex- 
j)ected large reinforcements, and when about 12 o'clock a strong 
force was seen marching down the river on the Maryland side, 
great excitement pre\ailed, it being supposed these were some of 
the expected reinforcements. It was soon as(;ertained, however, 
that they were a company of Ilarpei'^s Ferrians. luulei' Captain 
William Moore, wlio had crossed the river about a mile above 
Harper's Ferry, and marched down m order to take i:)ussession 
of the bridge and cut ofl^ Brown's retreat. Brown now plainly 
saw that the fortunes of tlie day were againsr liim, and he. tliere- 
fore, sent two of his prisoners, Messrs. A. M. ivitzmiller and 
Resin Cross, under guard of two of his men, to negotiate with 
Captain Moore for permission to vacate the place with his men 
without molestation. The two ambassadors proceeded with their 
guards towards the bridge ;• but as they came near the ^"(Tault 
House," several shots were fired from that building, by whicli 
the two Raiders were very severely wounded and put Ao/'s- tl. 
Gonibat. One of them contrived to make his wa}' back to the 
armory, but the other w^as unable to move, and Messrs. Ivitzuiillci' 
and Cross helped him into Mr. Fouke's Hotel, were his wounds 
were dressed. It may well be imagined that neither Mr.. Ivitz- 
miller nor Mr. Cross returned to captivity. Brown finding that 
his doves did not return with the olive branch, and despairing of 
success, called in from the streets the survi\'ors of liis party, and 
picking out nine of the most prominent of liis pi-isoners as hos- 
tages, he retreated with his men into a small brick Imiiding neai- 



24 



ANNALS OF HARPER S FERRY. 



the Armory gate, called the "Engine Houbc," taking with him 
his nine prisoners. A company arrived about this time from 
Martinsburg, who, with some citizens of Harper's Ferry and the 
surrounding country, made a rush on the Armory and released 
the great mass of the prisoners, not, however, without suffering 
some loss in wounded, caused t.j a galling fire kept up by the 
enemy from the Engine House. They had pierced the walls for 
musketry, and through these holes kept up a brisk fire, by which 
they not only wounded the Martinsburg men and the Harper's 
Ferrians. l)ut some Charlestown men also. 

-Before Brown's men retreated off the streets into the Engine 
House, two of them approached the corner of High and Shenan- 
doali streets, where Mr. Boerly had been shot in the morning. 
It was then about 2 o'clock, and Mr. Geoi'ge Turner, a very re- 
spectable gentleman of Jefferson county, who had come to town 
on piivato business, was standing at the door of William Moore's 
house, on High street, about one hundred yards from the corner. 
He was in the act of resting a gun on a board partition near the 
door to shoot at these men, when a bullet from the rifle of one 
of them struck him on the shoulder, the only part of him ex- 
posed. The bullet, after taking an eccentric course, entered his 
neck and killed him almost instantly. A physician who exam- 
ined him describes the wound as of a most singular kind, the 
bullet having taken a course altogether at variance with the laws 
supposed to regulate such projectiles. 

When Mr. Tiu*ner was shot, the two men instantly retreated, 
and a ludicrous occurrence took place, if, indeed, any event of 
that ill-omened day can be supposed calculated to excite merri- 
ment. Mr. John McClenen, a citizen of Harper's Ferry, shot 
after them, and his bullet striking the cartridge box of one of 
them as he was approaching the armory gate, an explosion of 
his ammunition took place, and he entered the gate amid a dis- 
play of fire works of a noAel description. He did not much 
relisli the honor paid him, and with accelerated pace he took 
i-ef uge in the Engine House with his companions. 

After they were all housed up in their fortress they killed an- 
other \ ery valuable citizen. Fountain Beckham, Esq., for many 
years Agent of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Boad at Harper's 
Ferr\," and lona' a mas^istrate of Jefferson countv. Beins: a man 



AKNALS OF harper's FERRY. 25 

of nervous temperament, he was naturally much excited by the 
occurrences of the day. Moreover, Haywood Shepherd, the ne- 
gro shot on the bridge the previous night, had been his faithful 
servant, arid he was naturally much grieved and very indignant 
at his death. He crept along the Kail Road under shelter of a 
water station Avhich then stood there, and peeped 'round the 
corner of the building at the Engine House opposite. A bullet 
from one of Brown's men penetrated his heart and he died in- 
stantly. A man named Thompson, said to be Brown's son-in- 
law, had been taken prisoner a short time before by the citizens, 
and was confined in Mr. Fouke's Hotel under guard. It was the 
intention of the citizens to hand him over to the civil authorities 
for trial, but the death of Mi-. Beckham so exasperated them, 
that the whole current of their feelings was changed. They 
rushed into the hotel, seized Thompson, dragged him to the 
bridge and riddled him with bullets. He, however, tried to es- 
cape by letting himself drop through the bridge into the river. 
He had been left for dead, but it appears he had vitality enough 
left to accomplish this feat. He was discovered and a shower of 
bullets was discharged at him. He was either killed or drowned, 
as he could be seen for a day or two after lying at the bottom of 
the river with his ghastly face still exhibiting his fearful death- 
agony. 

Another of the Raiders, named Lehman, attempted to escape 
from the upper end of the armory yard by swimming or wading 
the Potomac. He had reached a rock a short distance from the 
shore, when he was shot and killed by a citizen of Harper*s 
Ferry. His body also lay for some time where he tell. 

A little before dark, Brown asked if any of his prisoners would 
volunteer to gro out amonsr the citizens and induce them to cease 
firing on the Engine House, as they were endangering the lives 
of their friends who were prisoners. He promised on his part 
that if there was no firing on his party there should be none by 
them. Mr. Israel Russell undertook the dangerous duty, and the 
citizens were induced to cease firing, in consideration of the risk 
they incurred of injuring the prisoners. Like Messrs, Kitzmiller 
and Cross, Mr. Russell, it may well be supposed, did not return 
to captivity. 

It was now dark and the wildest excitement existed in the 



26 a\nnals -of harper*? ferry. 

towD, especially among the friends of the killed, wounded and 
prisoners. It had rained a little all day and the atmosphere was 
raw and cold. Now a cloudy and moonless sky hung lij^e a pall 
over the scene of conflict, and on the whole a more disn^al night 
cannot well be imagined. Guards were stationed round the En- 
gine iloase to prevent Brown's escape, and as forces were con- 
stantly arriving from Winchester, Frederick, Maryland, and other 
places, the town soon assumed quite a military appearance. The 
authorities in Washington had, in the meantime, been notified, 
and in the course of the night Colonel Robert E. Lee, afterwards 
the famous General of tlie Southern Confederacy, arrived with a 
force of United States Marines to protect the Government in- 
terests and capture or kill the invaders. About 11 o'clock, 
JBrown again endeavored to open negotiations for a safe conduct 
for himself and his men out of the place. Col. Shriver and 
(Japtain Sinn, of the Frederick troops, had a conference with 
kirn, which did not result in anything satisfactory. About 8 
o'clock on Tuesday morning Colonel Lee demanded a surrender, 
and on Brown's refusal, an assault was made by the Marines un- 
der Lieutenant Greene. They at first tried to break open the 
door with sledge hammers, but failing, they picked up a ladder 
that lay near, and with this they succeeded in making a breach. 
Through a narrow aperture thus made Lieutenant Greene 
squeezed himself, but found that the insurgents had barricaded 
the door with a fire engine and hose that were in tJie building. 
Over these Lieutenant Greene scrambled, followed by his men, 
and attacked Brown, who, with his party, was fortified behind 
the engine. After the marines had effected a breach and com- 
menced rushing in, the insurgents fired on them, and one of 
them, Luke Quinn, was mortally, and another slightly, wounded. 
Brown's men were all ])ayoneted or captured, but fortunately 
none of the prisoners received any injury. Their escape was 
indeed miraculous, as it was difficult for the marines to distin- 
guish them from the insurgents. Brown himself was severely 
wounded by Lieutenant Greene, and was taken to another build- 
ing, where his wounds were dressed. He received a cut on the 
head and a sword thrust in the shoulder. Two or three survivors 
of his men were kept in the Engine House under guard. 

The bodies of the slain raiders were buried in one ^rave. 



A>i>ALS OF HAKFEK S FEKKY. ^< 



on the southern bank of the Shenandoah, about half a mile 
above Harper's Ferry, anfi the prisoners. Brown inchided, were 
lodged in Charlestown Jail. Some had, however, escaped, and 
Cook liad not been seen at all in the fray. There was satisfac- 
tory evidence, however, of his having been connected with the 
party, and it was sooi\ ascertained that he, Owen Brown, ijiie of 
old John's sons, and others had been detailed to operate on the 
Maryland shore, and that they had seized a scliool house, taken 
the Domine prisoner and driven away the pupils, for the purpose 
of establishing a depot of arms at a point convenient to Harper's 
Ferry. It was also ascertained that they had all the da} of the 
17th kept up a tire from the Maryland Heights on*the people of 
the town, and that late in the evening Cook had got supper at 
the Canal Lock Honse, on the Maryland side of the river. It 
was, moreover, supposed that finding tlie fate of the day against 
them, they had fled towards Pennsylvania. A large body of 
men under Captain Edmond Chambers, an old citizen and a riian 
of well known "pluck," marched towards the school house and 
the Kennedy farm, and at each place they found a large number 
of Sharpe's rifles, pistols, swords, etc., with a considerable quan- 
tity of powder, percussion caps and equipments of various kinds. 
They also found a great number of papers, which tended to throw 
light on the conspiracy, and several hundred printed copies of a 
form of Provisional Government to be set up by Brown, onc^e he 
got a footing in Virginia. Among the arms were several hun- 
dred pikes of a pe'culiar form, intended for the hands of the ne- 
groes, who were expected to turn out at the first signal and strike 
for libert}^ It should have been remarked before, that Brown 
put into the hands of some of his negro prisoners some of those 
pikes, but up to the time of the discovery of the magazine at the 
Kenedy farm, the object of this novel weapon was not generally 
understood. 

The Governor of Virginia, Henry A. Wise, had, in the mean- 
time, arrived. He immediately took evei-y precaution to secure 
liis prisoners and the State against any attempt from the many 
allies Brown was supposed to have in the North . To him Brown 
confessed the whole plan for liberating the slaves, and indeed 
he had all along communicated his intentions to his prisoiiers, 
but as there was no communication between them ind the other 



^8 



ANNALS OF HARPER 8 FERRY. 



•citizens till late on Monday evening, tBe people generally were, 
as before remarked, up to that time in ignorance of his purposes. 
Governor Wise, who is himself a brave man, could not refrain 
from expressing admiration for Brown's undaunted courage, and 
it is said that he pronounced him honest, truthful and brave. 

Harper's Ferry was now patrolled e\'ery night by details of 
■citizens until the execution of Brown, which took place near 
Gharlestowu, December 2nd, 1859. A force of United States 
troops was also stationed at Harper's Ferry and gradually quiet 
was restored. Cook, and another Raider named Albert Hazlett, 
were arrested in Pennsylvania and brought back on requisitions. 
Cook and another white man named Edwin Coppic, with two 
negroes named Greene and Copeland, were executed on the 16th 
of December, in the same year, and Hazlett and Stevens (both 
white) met the same fate on the 16th of March, 1860. 

Brown died with unshaken fortitude, and bitter a» the animosi- 
ty against him was, his courage, or rather stoical indifference, 
elicited the admiration even of his enemies. Indeed it is diflB- 
cult at the present time to do justice to the character of this re- 
markable man ; but, do doubt, the future historians of this coun- 
try, who will write wlren ihe passions that excite us have subsided, 
or are forgotton, will class him with the Scotch Covenanters of 
the 17th Century, It has always struck the writer that John 
Brown very closely resembled John Balfour, of Burly, whose 
character is so finely portrayed in Scott's "Old Mortality.'' The 
same strong will and iron nerve, and the same fanaticism char- 
acterized these two men ; and it must be said of both that while 
no sane person could approve of their actions, their bitterest ene- 
mies cannot deny a tribute of respect to their unflinchinij cou- 
rage. The other prisoners also died bravely, and indeed it was 
a melancholy thing to see men of so much stamina lose their 
lives in such a foolish and wicked enterprize. 

An attempt to escape was made by Cook and Coppic on the 
night before their execution. By some means they escaped from 
the c;ell in which they were confined, and succeeded in climbing 
the outer wall of the Jail, wheix the}' were challenged by a citi- 
zen, guard, who was posted outside, and their farther progress 
prevented,. They were immediately taken back to their cell and 
closely guarded till mornijxg. 



ANNA] -8 OF HAKPEk's FEKKT. 29" 

A characteristic anecdote was related by the late Mr. Camp- 
bell, who was Sheriff of Jefferson county during the Brown 
troubles. It will be remembered that on the morning of the 
Raid, Brown got breakfast for his men at Mr. Fouke's Hotel, and 
as an equivalent restored to liberty Mr. Kemp, the bar-tender, 
whom he had taken prisoner. A short time before Brown's ex- 
ecution, Sheriff Campbell sold some property belonging to Brown, 
which was found at the Kennedy farm, and was accounting to 
him for it and naming some claims presented against him by 
various parties with whom he had dealings. Among those claims 
was one by Mr. Fouke for the breakfasts before mentioned. 
Brown was reclining on his bed, not having yet recovered from 
his wounds, and, no doubt, with the shadow of liis certain fate 
darkening his spirit. lie listened apathetically to the list of 
claims until that of Mr, Fouke was mentioned, when he sud- 
denly rose up and protested against the demand. "Why, Mr. 
Campbell," said he, "I made a fair bargain with Mr. Fouke ; I 
restored him his bar-tender as pay for the refreshments referred 
to, and I do not think it honorable of him to violate the con- 
tract." Mr. Campbell replied : ''Why, Mr. Brown, I wonder at 
you; I thought you were opposed to trading in human flesh, but 
now^ I find that yoc will do it like other people when it suits 
your convenience." A grim smile played for a moment 'round 
his firmly compressed mouth. He lay down again, quietly, and 
remarked ; "Well, there may be something in that too." He 
made no farther opposition to the claim. 

On the morning of his execution he bade an affectionate fare- 
well to his fellow captives, with the exception of Cook, whom he 
charged with deception. It is said that he gave to each of them 
a silver quarter of a dollar as a memento, and told them to meet 
their fate courageously. He pretended not to know Hazlett at 
all, but this was understood by all who were present to be done 
in order to aid Hazlett, whose trial had not yet come off and who 
pretended that he knew nothing about Brown, or the Eaid on 
Harper's Ferry. It will be remembered that he waa arrested in 
Pennsylvania some time after tlie Eaid, and, of course. ]iis de- 
fence, if he had any, would be an alibi. 

Brown's wife arrived at Harper's Feriy shortly before his ex- 
ecution, and to her his body was delivered for burial. He wag 



30 ANNALS OF HARPER'S FERRY. 

buried in the State of New York, where he had resided for some 
years. His wife was a very iutellio;ent woinaji, and did not ap- 
pear to sympathize with her husband's wild notions on the sub- 
ject of slavery. In conversation with a citizen of Harper's Ferry, 
she expressed the opinion that Brown had contemplated this or 
a similar raid for thirty years, although he never mentioned the 
subject to hei'. The bodies of Cook, Coppic, Hazlett and Stevens 
were also deli\'ered to friends, and it is said that the two latter 
are buried near the residence of a benevolent Quaker lady in 
New Jersey, who deeply sympathized with them and the cause 
in which they suffered. 

The gallows on which John Brown was hung must have lieeu 
a vast fabric, and the rope that hung him as long as the Equi- 
noctial line, or else both had some miraculous powers of repro- 
duction. Of the many thousands of soldiers that were from 
time to time stationed in Jefferson county, from the day of 
Brown's execution till the last soldier disappeared, more than 
a year aftei- the War, almost every man had a portion of either 
as a souvenir of his sojourn in Virginia. The writer saw pieces 
of wood and fragments of rope, purporting to have formed 
parts of them, enough to build and rig a 74 Gun ship. If the 
soldiers believed they had the genuine articles, they were as con- 
tented as they would be if they had tlie reality, and it would be 
cruelty to undeceive them. 

The names of the Raiders, as well as could be ascertained, 
were as follows: John Brown, Watson Brown, Oliver Brown, 
Owen Brown, Aaron D. Stevens, Edwin Coppic, Barclay Coppic, 
Albert Hazlett, John E. Cook, Stuart Taylor, William Lehman, 
William Thompson, John Kagi, Charles P. Tydd, Oliver Ander- 
son, Jeremiah Anderson, Dolph Thompson, Dangeriield Newby, 
Shields Oreene, John Copeland and Lewis Leary, of whom the 
four last were negroes or mulattoes. 

Jolm Brown was fifty-nine years old, about five feet eleven 
inches in height, large boned and muscular, but not fleshy. He 
gave indications of having in his youth possessed great physical 
strength. His hair had been a dark brown, but at this period it 
was gray. His beard was long, and on the memorable day of 
the Raid it hung in snowy waves to his breast, giving to his 
aquiline features a singularly wild appearance. His eyes were 



ANTVfAL^ OF HAKPEr's PERRY. 31 

of H dark hazel, and burned with a peculiar light that gave 
promise of a quick temper and daring courage. His head, as it 
appeared to the writer, was of a conical shape, and on tiie whole, 
hie physique well corresponded with the traits of his character. 
He was a native of Connecticut. 

There was confusion respecting the identity of his two sons, 
Watson and Oliver. They were both mortally wounded on the 
17th. One of them, a young man apparently about twenty-three 
years of age, of low stature, with fair hair and blue eyes, wa» 
shot in the groin and died in the course of the next night in the 
Engine House, while the party had still possession of it. Et is 
said that he suffered terrible agony, and called on his companions 
to put him out of pain by sliooting him. His father, however, 
manifested no feeling on the occasion beyond remarking that 
"he must have patience, that he was dying in a good cause., and 
that he should meet his fate like a brave man." The other was 
a tall man, al>out six feet in height, with very black hair. Ho 
also, as above stated, was wounded in the skirmish oi the L7th, 
and he died next morning after tlie Marines had got pO'Ssession 
of the Engine House. He was one of the two men who were 
wounded from the "Gault House.'' When he died his father 
was a prisoner and badly wounded. On learning that one of his 
men had just died, he sent out to enquire if it was his son., and 
on being informed that it was, he manifested the same stoicism, 
and made the same, or a similar remark, as on the death of the 
other son. As above remarked, there is a doubt as to which of 
these men was Watson and which Oliver. 

Owen Brown was one of those detailed to operate in Maryland. 
He was not in the fray, })ut made his escape and was never cap- 
tured. We cannot, therefore, give a description of his personal 
appearance. 

Aaron D. Stevens was a remarkably line lootdng young man 
of about thirty. He was about five feet ten inches in height, 
heavily built and of great symmetry of form. His hair was 
black, and his eyes of dark hazel had a very penetrating glance. 
He was said to be a desperate character, and for some reason 
there was greater animosity felt towards him than any of the 
others, except old Brown and Cook. He received several woandls 
in the skirmish, and it was thought he could not survive them. 



32 ANNALS OF HARPEK's FERRY. 

In conBequence of those injuries he was one of the last put on 
trial and executed. He was said to be a believer in Spiritualism. 
He was the one who was so badly wounded from the "Gault 
House," and who was taken to Fouke's Hotel. 

Edwin Coppic was a young man aged about twenty-four years, 
about tive feet six inches in height, compactly built, and of a 
florid complexion. He was a very handsome young man, and for 
various reasons great sympathy was felt for him by many. He 
was not wounded in the engagement, but was taken a prisoner by 
the Marines from the Engine House. He was said to be from 
Iowa, where his widowed mother, a pious old lady, belonging to 
the Society of Friends, resided. After his conviction a petition, 
numerously signed, was fonvarded to the Governor of Virginia, 
requesting executive clemency in his case. It was not successful, 
however, as he was executed as before mentioned. In conversa- 
tion with a citi?«n of Harper's Ferry, who visited him in his cell, 
he remarked that when he left his home in Iowa, he had no in- 
tention of entering on any expedition like the one against Har- 
per's FeiTy, but he confessed that his object was to induce slaves 
to leave their masters, and to aid them to escape. 

Of Barclay Coppic little is known beyond the fact of his being 
Edwin's brother. He was witli Owen Brown and Cook on the 
Maryland side and was never captured. It is said that he was 
killed some yeare ago in Missoun by a Rail Road accident. 

Albert Hazlett, of Pennsylvania, was a man about five feet 
eleven inches in height, raw boned and muscular. His hair was 
red and his eyes were of a muddy brown, and of a very \m pleas- 
ant expression. He had high cheek bones, and had lost one tooth 
in front of his mouth. He was very roughly dressed on the day 
of the raid, and in every sense of the word, he looked like an 
''ugly customer." He made his escape from Hai'per's Ferry on 
the evening of the 17th, about the time that Brown withdrew his 
force into the Engine House, but was afterwards captured in 
Pennsylvania and executed with Stevens. His age was about 
thirty-tlu-ee years. 

John E. Cook was a yomig man about twenty-eight years of 
age, about five feet eight inches in height, but as he stooped a 
good deal, he did not appear to be so tall. He had fair hair and 
bright blue eyes, and was, on the whole, quite an intelligent look- 



AM.VAI.s (»K HAltPKIJ*.- KKKRV. SH 

ing ujciii. lit' had, as before remarked, I'esided .several years at 
Harper's Ferrv. and had become acquaiuted with all the jomi£c 
men of the place, by whom he was regarded as a pleasant com- 
panion, lie was respectably connected, and tlie (Tovemor of In- 
diana (Willard) was his brother-in-law. On his trial, Mr. Voor- 
hees, now so prominent in the West as a pohtician, made a speech 
for tlie defence, which is regarded as one of his best efforts. Cook 
was a native of Connecticut. 

Little is known of Stuart Taylor, lie was a man of low sta- 
ture, with red hair. He was one of those bayoneted by the 
Marines in the Engine House, and ht^ was dragged dead from that 
building at the same time that ]^]'owu was removed. 

(!)f Lehman, wlio was killed on a rock in the Potomac, while 
endeavoring to escape, and Thoiupsou. who was shot at the bridge, 
Uttle is knowii. The author was never close enough to Lehman 
to l)e able to describe his pei'son. and he was so mutilated when 
removed for !)uvial that he had lost liis natural appearance, and the 
authoi- can get no reliable description of his person. Thompson 
appeared to be about thirty yeais of age. of low stature, and 
fair complexion. 

John, or (as he is sometimes called lienrie) Kagi, is said to have 
been a remarkably line looking man, with a profusion of black 
hail', and a flowing l)eard of the same color. He was about thirty 
years of age, tall and portly, and he did not display the same fero- 
city that the others exliibited. He was Secretaiy of War mider 
Brown's Provisional CTOveniment, and held the rank of Captain. 
He is supposed to have been a nati^•e of Ohio. He was shot in 
the Shenandoah, near the Ritle Factory. 

Of Charles P. Tydd little is known. It is said that he used to 
peddle books through the neigh1)orhood of Harper's Ferry before 
the Paid. As far as ascertained, he did not appear in the fi'ay, 
but escaped froni Maryland to parts unknown. It is said he was 
a native of Maine. 

Respecting the identity of Ohver and Jeremiah iVnderson there 
is a doubt, as in the case of the ih-owiis. One of them was killed 
by the Marines, but Avhat liecame of the other is unknown. The 
man who was killed by the Marines was about thirty years of age, 
of middle statm-e, with xery black hair and dark complexion. He 
was supposed, by some, to be a Canadian mulatto. He received 



34 ANNALS OF HARj'ER 6 FERKY. 

three or foxir bayonet stabs in the breast and stomach, and when 
he was dragged oat of tJie Engine House to the flagged walk in 
front, lie was yet alive and vomiting gore from internal hemorrh- 
age. While he was in this condition a farmer, from some part of 
the sun-ounding conntrj^ came up tx) him and viewed him in silence, 
bat witJi a look of concentrated bitterness. Not a word did he 
speak, thinking, no doubt, that no amount of cursing could do 
justice to liis feelings. He passed on to another part of the yard, 
and did not return for a considerable time. When lie came back, 
Anderson was still breathing, and the farmer addressed him thus : 
"Well, it takas you a h-11 of a long time to die." If Anden^on 
had vitaHty enough left in him to hear this sootliing remark, it 
must have contributed greatly to smooth his way to tlie unknown 
land of disembodied spirits. After death, also, this man Anderson 
appeared to be marked out for special lionore and the most marked 
attentions. Some ph^i-gicians from the Valley of Virginia picked 
him out as a good subject for dissection, and t}€fm. con. they got 
possession of his body. In order to take him away handily, they 
procured a ban-el and tried to pack him into it. Head-fore- 
most they rammed him in, but they could not bend liis leg's so as 
to get them into the barrel with the rest of his body. In their 
endeavors to accomplish this feat, tliey strained so hard that the 
man's lx»nes, or sinews, fairly cracked. The praise- worthy ex- 
ertions of these sons of Galen, in the cause of science and hu- 
manity, elicited the warmest expressions of approval fi-om the 
spectators. Tlie writer does not know what disposition they finally 
made of him. 

'Dolph Thompson was quite a boy, and appeared to be an un- 
willing participant in the transaction. He was seen by not more 
than two or three citizens, and it is supposed that he escaped early 
on tlie 17th. He had fair hair and a florid complexion. 

Dangei-field Newby was a tall, well built mulatto, aged about 
thirty years, with a pleasing face. He was shot and killed at the 
Ai-senal gate, by somebody in Mi-s. Butler's house, opposite. He 
was killed about 11 o'clock, A, M., on Monday, and lie lay where 
he fell mitil the afternoon of Tuesday. I'he bullet struck him in 
tlie lower part of the neck and went down into his body ; the per- 
son wlio shot him being in a position more elevated than the place 
where Newby was standing. From tlie relative position of the 



ANlfALS OF HAKPEr's FERRY. 35 

parties, the size of the bullet, or some other circumstance, tiie 
hole in his neck was ver^' large, and the \\Titer heard a paWy re- 
mark that he beheved a smoothing iron Imd heen ahot into Mm. 
Shortly after his death a hog came rooting a])out him, apparently 
unconscious, at fii*st, that it was a lord of creation that lay tliere. 
The liog after a while paused and looked attentively at the body, 
then snuffed around it, and finally put its snout to the man's 
face. Suddenly the brute was seized with a panic, and with bris- 
tles and tail erect it scampered away as if for life. This display 
of sensibility was very creditable to that hog, but soon a drove of 
the same genus crowded 'romid the dead man, none of which ap- 
peared to be actuatxsd by the same generous impulse as the first. 
The pertinacity with which death holds on to a dead African is so 
well known that it has become proverbial ; but the King of Terrors 
himself could not exceed those hogs in zealous attention to the de- 
fmict Newby. They tugged away at him wdth might and main, 
and the writer saw one run its snout into the wound and drag out 
a stringy substance of some kind, which he is not anatomist enough 
to call by its right name. It appeared to be very long or very 
elastic, as it reached f ull}^ three yards from the man's neck ; one 
end being in the hog's mouth and the other some where in the 
man's body. This circmnstance could not fail to improve the 
flavor and enliance the value of pork at Harper's Ferry the next 
^vinter. 

Sliields Greene was a negro of the blackest die ; small in stature 
and veiy active in his movements. He seemed to be veiy officious, 
flitting about fi-om place to place, and "was evidently conscious of 
his own exti'a importance in the enterprize. It is supposed that it 
was he wlio killed Mi-. Boerley. He was aged about thirty years. 

Jolm Copeland was a mulatto of medimn size and about twenty- 
five yeai-s of age. He represented himself as being from Ohio. 

Levvds Leaiy, a mulatto, was mortally wounded at the Rifle Fac- 
toiy and died in a cooper's shop on the "Island." He was a yoimg 
man, but liis personal appearance cannot lie described, as he was 
suffering great agony, and, of coui-se, did not present his natm*al 
appearance. 

One of Mr. Washington's negroes, who had been taken prisoner 
witli his master, the prevdous night, was dro^vned while endeavor- 
ing to escape from his captors. He was an unwilling participant 



36 A.NNALS OF HAKFEK's FEKKl . 

in the transaction, and no blame was attached to him by the people. 

Heywood Shepherd, the first man killed by Brown's party, wa« 
a very black negro, aged about forty- four years. He was uncom- 
monly tall, measuring about six feet five inches, and was a man of 
great physical strength. He was free, but in order to comply with 
a law then existing in Virginia, he acknowledged 'Squire Beckham 
as his master. The relation of master and slave, however, existed 
only in name between them, and He}^'ood accumulated a good 
deal of money and owned some property in Winchester. He was 
a married man and left several children. 

It is supposed by many that the kilhng of this niau, alone pre- 
vented a general insurrection of tlie negroes. Many of the farm- 
ers in the neighborhood say that they noticed an unusual excite- 
ment among their slaves on the Sunday before the Kaid. If it be 
true that the negroes knew anything of the intended attack, it is 
probable they were deterred from talcing a part by seeing one of 
theii' race, the first man, sacrificed. 

Thomas Boerley, the second man killed, was a nativt.' of the 
county of Roscommon, in Ireland. As before remarked, he was 
a man of great physical strength and was noted for "pluck." He 
measm-ed about six feet, and weighed over two hundred '^wunds. 
He was a blunt, straight forward man in liis dealings, and was 
very popular on account of his love of fun. His age was about 
forty-tln-ee years. He was married and left three children. The 
State of Virginia granted a small pension to his widow, but the 
War breaking out shortly after, she never yet received it. Mr. 
Boerley kept a store, and was in veiy comfoitable cireirnistances. 

Geoi-ge Turner, the thutl man killed, was a veiy fine looking 
man, aged about forty years. It is said that he was educated at 
West Point, but for this the wiiter has no certam authority. He 
was immarried and left a good deal of property'. 

Fountain Beckman, the fourth man killed, was, like the others, 
a tall, powerfuliy built man. His age was al>oiit sixty. As before 
mentioned, he had been for many years a magistrate of the county 
and the accent of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road at Harper's 
Ferry. At the time of his death he was Mayor of the town. He 
was a widower, and two sons and a daughter survived liim. Mr. 
Beckham was, m many respects, a remarkable man. It is said 
that he was tb.e boat magistrate that JeftersO'U. county ever possessed. 



ANWALS OF HAKPKK'k I-'TKRKY. 37 

his decisioHB being always given with a view to tb.e jmetioe of the 
('-asee, and, in many instances, being marked with great shrewd- 
ness and soundness of judgment. On tlie other hand he was some- 
times very whimsical, and some rich scene* imed to be enacted 
between him and Heywood. The 'Squire would sometimes give 
unreasonable or eontmdictory orders to his servant, who never hesi- 
tated on such occasions to refuse obedience; and it was no uncom- 
mon thing to see Heywood starting out from the Rail Road office, 
with his bundle on his back, en route for Winchester, and swearing 
that he would never serve the 'Squire another day. He never 
proceeded very far, however, before he was overt^iken by a mes- 
sage from the 'Squire bringing proposals for peace, and Heywood 
never failed to return. .\ strong attachment existed between these 
two men through life, and in death they were not separated. Mr. 
Beckliara's death was mourned as a public loss, for, with many 
oddities of maimer, he was a very kind hearted man and a good 
citizen. 

Luke Quinu, the tifth man killed, was a private soldier in the 
Marine service. He was a native of Ireland, and quite a young 
man. N^othing else is known concerning him. 

The nine citizens confined as hostages in the Engine House were 
MS follows : Ltiwis W. Washington and John Alstadt, Planters ; 
John E. P. Dangertield, Paymaster's (derk ; A. M. Ball Master 
Machinist; Benjamin Mills, Master Armorer: .Tolm Donohoo, As- 
sistant Agent of tlie Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road at Haq^er's 
Ferry ; Terence Bmn:is, a fanner residing in Washington county, 
Maryland ; Israel Russell, Merchant ; and a Mi\ Shope, of Fred- 
erick (dty, Maryland, who happened to be at Harper's Ferry that 
day on a business visit. 

Lewis W. Washington is a very fine looking man of about fifty 
years of age, with that unmistakable air that always accompanies 
a man of ti'ue patrician birth and education. He is the soul of 
hospitality, and Cook used to visit him frequently for tb.e ostensi- 
ble purpose of contending with him in pistol shooting, an accom- 
plishment for which they were both famous. Mr. Washington, on 
those occasions, used to exhibit the sword, and other relics of his 
great namesake and kinsman, and thus it was that Cook and hit-, 
■friends gained such an intimate knowledge of Ms liousehold ar- 
rangements, as enabled them to capture him v/ithout difficulty, 



38 ANNALS OF HARPEK'k FESKY.. 

and discover where the relics were stored. Cook was always hoe- 
pitably entertained whenever he visited Mr. Washington, and the 
ingratitude manifested towards that gentleman was |)erhap6 the 
worst f eatm-e of the whole trai^action, and not to be excused for 
the moral effect that the capture might be expected to secure. Mr. 
Washington, it is said, exliibited a great deal of the dignity and 
calnmess wliicli characterized his illustrious kinsman, and his fellow 
captives yet speak of his remarkable coolness imder the trying cir- 
(^unstances of his situation. 

Mr. Wasliington had several narrow escapes from death while 
in the hands of the "Philistines." About the time Mr. Beckham 
wa^ killed Erown was sitting on the engine near the Engine House 
door, rifle in hand, apparently watching an oppoitmiity to make a 
good shot. He lingered his rifle like a person playing on a violin, 
and Mr. Washington approached him for the purpose of inquiring if 
he had ever learned to play on that instrmnent. As Mr. Wasliing- 
ton came near Brown, a bullet fi-om the outside whistled irnme- 
<^Uately over the head of the latter, penetrated through the handle 
of an axe that was suspended on the engine, and passed through 
3Ir. Washington's beakd into the wall near him, sprinkling biick 
dust all over liim. Brown cooEy remarked, "that w^as close," 
and Mr. Washington, postponing his intended question, moved a 
little to one side, when he entered into convei*sation with Mr. 
Mills, another prisoner. Their faces were not fom* inches apart, 
yet through this narrow passage another bullet whistled, and Mr. 
Wasliington, flnding one place as safe as another, continued Ms con- 
versation with Mr. Mills. 

Mr. Washington at that time owned a dog of very eccentric 
habits and miamiable disposition. He made it a point to visit, sev-. 
eral times every day, the laborers on tlie plantation, and if there 
were several parties of them, he would visit each in tiuTi and eye 
rhe negroes suspiciously, after which he would return to his bed, 
which was in front of the main entrance to the house. He never 
made any freedom -with any person, not even with his master, who 
f i-equently, -but in vain, tried to get liim to follow him 'round the 
plantation. His morose disposition, and the jealous eye he always 
kept on the negroes, gave rise to a behef that in him was the dis- 
i^mbodied soul of some defunct plantation overeeer, who, with the 
jiilnig passion strong aftbk death, continued to exercise his favor- 



ANNALS OF HAKPEK's FFJiRY, 3^ 

ite avocation. On the night of Mr. Washington's capture, how 
ever, his whole nature appeared to undergo a change. Ite accom- 
panied his master to Harper's Ferry, stuck closely to him all day 
on Monday, and when Mr, Washington was confined in the Engin© 
House, his faithful though hitherto undemonstrative dog followed Mitt 
Into close captivity,. Brown and his men tried to eject him, and evea 
his master endeavored to induce him to go out, but in vain. When. 
Mr. Washington was released he lost him in the dense crowd, but 
on reaching home, on Tuesday night, he fomid tl).e metamorphosed 
overseer waiting for him at the gate, and exhibiting signs of the 
most extravagant Joy at his safe return. After this the dog was 
regarded with more favor, and many of the negroes, from that 
time, rejected the former tale of tmuamigration as a slander on 
the faitlif ul animal. 

Mr. Alstadt is a gentleman of about sixty years of age, of very 
unassuming manners, and popular for his amiable disposition. 

John E. P. Dangertield is a gentleman, of about iifty yeare of 
age and of a delicate constitution, lie bore up very well, how- 
ever, and when released by the Marines, his physical strengtli had 
not given way as his friends feared it Mwuld ile now resides in 
Nortli Carolina. 

A. M. Ball was a man about forty-six years of age. He was 
very corpulent, but notwithstanding his great bulk, his health was 
dehcate. He died in June, 1861, of apoplexy, 

Benjamin Mills was a man about fifty years of age, iow in stat- 
ure, but muscular and active. He moved 8b.ortIy afterwards to 
Harrodsbm'g, Kentucky, where he had fornterly resided. 

John Donohoo is quite a good looking man, of about thirty-tive 
years of age. He is a native of Ireland, but emigrated at a very- 
early age to this country. He resided many years at Harper's 
Ferry, where he was highly respected for his integrity and business 
qualifications. He is now a merchant in some part cf Pennsylva- 
nia or Maryland. 

Terence Burns is a man of about forty-eight years of age. He 
resides near the Kennedy Farm,, and unfortunately for himi, was well 
knoAvn to Brown and his'party,. On the night of the Raid, tbey 
called at his house and took }nm, along with them as a prisoner. 
He was probably their first captive. Mr, Burns is higlily re-^pected 
by all who know him. 



40 ANNALS OV HVKPEL-'s 1- KKJO . 

Israel RuBsell if? a man of nearly sixty vears uf age. He w'dn 
for many yeai-s a magistrate ()f Jeffei'son count}-, and was ah\'ays 
greatly respected. He now i-esides in Lo\idoiin county, Virginia. 

Of Mr. Sliope little is kncAvn at Harpers Ferry. As l»efore re- 
marked, he resides in Frederick city, Maryland. 

It is somewhat singular that the above mentioned geutleuieii 
displayed little or no vindicti\ eness towards Brown. Tlie writer 
lias frequently j-emarked, in convei'sation with those men, that 
they invariably d>velt on his extraordinary courage, and that the 
animosity, ^\•hich it was natural they shoidd feel on account of the 
gi'eat danger to which IJrown exposed theiu, was lu.-.t in admira- 
tion for his daring, tliough misguided, bi-avery. ^Ii'. Donohoo, 
it is said, visited Brown in prison, and very much to his credit, ex- 
hibited to his fallen foe a generosity characteristic of the mai^ 
himself, and the gallant nation of his biith. 

The history of the Bnnni E.aid should not close without notice 
of another party who iigured some^vhat curiously in that memorable 
transaction. At tliat time there hved at Harper's Feny a half-witted 
felkn\- named Jolm jSIolloy, who managed to live by getting scraps 
of broken bread and meat from the kitchens of the people, in re- 
turn foi- serxices rendered in can-ying -water from the town pump 
and the rivei'. He was never known to sleep in a house, a doo}- 
step answering ail the purposes of a bed, and a store box being re- 
garded by him as a positive luxuiy. When drunk, (which was as 
often as he could get whiskey enough,) he had a particular liking 
for a sleep on the Eail Koad track, and as a consequence was run 
over several times by the cars, but it appeared as if nothing could 
kill him. On one occasion the point of a "cow-catcher" entered 
his neck, and he was pushed by the engine a (considerable distance. 
Even THIS did not kill hin», but seveml ugly scars remained as 
mementoes of the adventure. Like othei-s, he was taken prisoner 
by Brown and conlined in the Armoiy yard. About 3 o'clock in 
the afternoon, when the alann had spread and people crowded in 
from the sui-rounding country, armed with every species of weapon 
they could lay their hands on, John managed to escape by climh- 
i)ig the w^all. ^Yhen he was seen on th(? wall, the citizens sup- 
posed he w^as one of Brown's men and everybody blazed away at 
him. A perfect shower of bullets whistled 'round him, and his 
rlothes, nevei- in the best of repair, were almost sliot off his bodv. 



A](*KiU>3 OF HABI'EES 3i1B3RJRY. 



41 



jNo Jet* thari twenty bxilletB perforated hie clothing, biat, strange 
to Baj, be escaped without a Bcratch, and Bucceeded in regain- 
iug Mb liberty. WJhen, after the Raid, 8trangere used to visit 
the fecene, John always made it a point to be about, exhibiting the 
scars which he received from the "cow-catcher," and attributing 
them to woundfi inflicted by Bro-wn's party. Many a dollar did 
John receive on the sti-engtb of those wounds, and, no doubt, he 
has figured in many a toitrist's book as a hero and a martyr. His 
escape from the bullete. of hie friends was certainly miraculous, 
and it goes t^.* prove the truti^ of the old proverb of "A fool for 
luck," &c. 

This is the Brown Raid, so called ; an invasion which may be 
considered as the commencement of our unhappy Civil War. It, 
of course, created intense excitement all over the land, and the 
feeling tlien aroused never entirely subsided until the election of 
Mr. Lincoln, m November, 1860, renewed the quarrel on a greater 
scale. Thus Haa-per's Feny enjoys the distinction of having been 
the scene of the first act in the fearful drama, and, as will be seen 
hereafter, it 'wzur the the-atrc of many another part, of the <3bneadful 
tragedy. 



OHAPTBPl V. 

When, on the election of Mi. Lincoln, the Gulf States seceded 
and the Legislature of Virginia called a convention of the people, 
to consider what oourse was best to 'be pursued under the circum- 
stances, Mr Barbo'iir and Mr Logan Osbom were elected to the 
convention on the Union ticket, in Jefferson county, over Andrew 
Hiianter and William Lucas, secessionists. While in Richmond, 
attencLtng the convention, however, Mr. Barbour is said to have 
been lirawn :into the vortex of secession, through the powerful 
influences broiiglit to bear by the seceesionists on the members of 
that body.. The ordinance of secession was passed by the con- 
vention on ijae 17th of April, 1861, and on the following day Mr. 
Earbop.:: made hie. appearance at Hamper's Ferry, in company with 



42 



ANN ALB OF HARPERS FERRY. 



Mi\ Seddon, afterwards prominent in the government of the Con- 
federacy. He made a speech to the people, advising tliem to co- 
operate -with their native State and give in their adhesion to tlie 
. new Confederacy. This speech excited the anger of the people 
to a high pitch, as he had received their suffi-ages on the imder- 
fttanding tliat he was for the Union nnconditionally. A partial 
riot took place, and the appearance of a son them soldier (a young 
man named John Burk) on guard over the telegraph office, aroused 
the people to frenzy. 

Lieut. Jones with forty-two regular United States soldiers was 
then stationed at Harper s Ferry, a company liaving been kept 
there by the Government, for the protection of tlie place, since 
the Brown Raid. Hearing that a large force was marching from 
the South to take possession of tlie armory, lie made some prepa- 
rations to defend the place, and called on the citizens for volun- 
teers. Many responded, prominent among vehom was a gigantic 
Irishman, named Jeremiah Donovan, wlio immediately shouldered 
a musket and stood guard at the armoiy gate. This man was 
the first (at least in this region) who took up arms in defence of 
the Government, and as will be seen shortly, he was very near 
paying a heavy penalty for his patriotism. As before mentioned, 
a southern soldier was on guard at the telegraph office, and he 
and Donovan were not fifty yards apart. 'To use a homely phrase, 
Harper's Ferry was "between hawk and buzzard," a condition in 
which it remained 'till the war was ended, four years afterwards. 
Mr. George Koonce, a man of great activity and personal courage, 
was very prompt in volunteering his aid to Lieutenant Jones, and 
the latter put great confidence in him. With a few young men, 
Mr. Koonce advanced to meet the Virginia Militia, about two 
thousand in number, who were inarching towards Harper's Ferry 
from Charlestowii. Lie encountered and, it is said, actually 
halted tliem on Smallwood's Ridge, near Bolivar. At this mo- 
ment, however, news reached Mr. Koonce that Lieutenant Jones, 
acting on orders from Washington, or under direction from Cap- 
tain Kingsbury, who had been sent from the Capital the da\- be- 
fore, to take charge at Llarper's Ferry, had set fire to the armory 
and arsenal, and with his men retreated towards the North. This 
left Mr. Koonce in a very awkward position, but he, with the few 
under liis <;ommand, succeeded in escaping in the darkness. Mr. 



ANNALS OF HARPER's FERRY. 43 

Koonce was obliged to ieavB the piace immediate!},, aud keep 
away nmtil the town again fell into the bands of the Grovernment 
troops. A thick colamn of smoke, ariaing from the direction of 
Harper's Ferry, gave to the Confederate force information of the 
burning, and they proceeded at "double quick^' to save the ma 
chinery in the shops and the arms in the arsenal, for tlie use of 
the Confederacy, Before they reached Harper's Ferry,, the citi- 
zens had extinguished the fire in the r^hops and baved them and 
the machinery. The arsenal, however, wsfi totally consumed, 
with about fifteen thousand stand of arms there stored, a very 
serious loss to the Confederates, who had made calculations on 
getting possession of them. 

Just at 12 o'clock on the nighc of April 18tii,. 1801, the Con- 
federate forces marched into Harper's Ferry. Poor Donovan was 
seized and, it is said, that a rope was put 'round his neck by some 
parties of southern views, for the purpose of hanging him. A 
better feeling, however, prevailed, and Donti>\aii was permitted. 
to move to the North and seek employment \^'ith the Government 
of his choice. The Virginians, into whose hands Donovan luckily 
fell, were the most tolerant of the Confederatcc. Had he fallen 
into the hands of the soldiers from the Clulf States, that came on 
in a few days, he would not have escaped so easily. These latter 
were near lynching Dr. Joseph E. Clegget and Mr. Solomon. V. 
Yantis, for their Union opinions. The Virginia militia were 
commanded by Turner Ashby, afterwards so famoiii^ for hi^ ex- 
ploits in the Valley of Virginia,.^ 

Harper's Ferr}-- now ceased for ti. time to be in the possession 
of the Government The place was occupied for nearly two 
months by the Confederates.. The splendid machinery at the 
work shops was taken down and transported to Fayetteville, 
North Carolina, where the Confederates had established an 
armory. While the place was occupied by the insurgents, it pre- 
sented a scene novel at the time, but very familiar for years after. 
What transpired is known to all, and has been recorded in many 
histories of far greater pretensions than the present. These oc- 
currences belong to the history of the War rather than that of 
Harper's Fkjsry, It ro.ay be mentioned, however, that Generail 
Harney, of the Uiaited States Army, was seized there one night, 
on a train of the Baltim^ore a5id O'hio Rail P-oad, while lie wm 



44 ANNALS OF HARPER's FERRY. 

on his way from St. Louis to Washington, and conveyed a pris- 
oner to Richmond. 

On the 14th of June, the Confederates blew up the Rail Road 
bridge, burned the main armory buildings, and retreated up the 
Valley. Quiet reigned for a few days, but shortly after a con- 
siderable force returned and destroyed the Rifle Factory and 
the Shenandoah bridge. 

On. the -ith of July, a lively skirmish took place between Cap- 
tain Henderson's company of Confederate Cavalry and a ]3arty 
of the 9th New York Regiment, stationed at Sandy Hook. The 
Federals being on the Maryland and the Confederates on the 
Virginia side of the river, the game was at "long taw,"' and con- 
sequently little damage was done : one man was killed on the 
Maryland shore, and, at least, one man wounded on the Virginia 
side. In the evening a melancholy occurrence took place, where- 
by we lost one of our very best citizens. After the skirmish was 
over, Mr. F. A. Roeder walked towards the Rail Road office, and 
while he was sauntering about, a shot was fired from the Mary- 
land Heights, which inflicted a mortal wound on him, of which 
he died in about two hours. Mr. Roeder was a German by birth, 
but had resided a great many years at Harpers Ferry, where he 
was always held in the highest estimation. 

When General Patterson retreated from Charlestown, (July 
21st) his army occupied the place for several days, and helped 
themselves to most of what was left in the town. Wliatever may 
be said of their achievements in the field, their exploits in the 
foraging line are certainly worthy of the highest encomiums. 
When the army left, quiet again reigned for a short time, 'till, 
on the 16tli of October, a brisk skirmish took place between a 
small force under Colonel, afterwards General, Geary and a body 
of militia under Colonel Ashby. The battle took place on Boli- 
Tar Heights, and is hence known as "tlie battle of Bolivar." Both 
sides claimed the victory, but both retreated, Geary to Maryland 
and Ashby up the Valley. Four or five Federals lost their lives in 
this skirmish, but the loss of the others is unknown. In a few days 
after this, a party of Confederates entered the town and bunied 
the extensive flour mill of A. H. Herr, thereby inflicting an irre- 
parable loss on tlie people. From this time the town was visited 
nightly by scouts from both sides, and one morning, during the 



A.NNALS OF {IAKPER's FKKRV. 45 

Winter, two parties encountered each other. The Federal scouts 
had entered a skiff to return to Maryland, when they were "fired 
on by the Confederates, and one of them, named Rohr, was 
killed ; another, named Rice, threw himself into tlie river, and by 
his dexterity in swimmino-, and by keeping under the cover of 
the boat, he managed to save his life and escape to Maryland. 

The killing of Rohr was the cause of another calamity to Har- 
per's Ferry. Colonel Geary, or some of his subordinates, became 
highly incensed at the death of this man, who was a favorite 
scout, and immediately sent a detachment of troops to destroy 
that part of the town in which the Confederates were accus- 
tomed to conceal themselves to w^atch or annoy the Federals on 
the Maryland shore. This they faithfully accomplished, destroy- 
ing, by lire, the fine Hotel, and all of that portion of the town 
between the armory and the Rail Road bridge. This certainly 
must be considered a wanton destruction of property, as the Rail 
Road buttresses, or even the ruins of the burnt buildings, fur- 
nished enough of shelter for spies or sharp-shootei's. 

All the winter Harper's Ferry presented a scene of the utmost 
desolation. All the inhabitants had left, except a few old men 
and women, who ventured to protect their homes, or who were 
either unable or unwilling to leave the place and seek for new 
associations. Thus matters continued until the night of the 23nd 
of February, 1863, when General Banks made a forward move 
in conjunction with General Shields, who proceeded up the Yalley 
from the neighborhood of Paw-Faw tunnel, on the line of the 
Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road, between Martinsburg and Cum- 
berland. General Banks sent a detachment across the river at 
Harper's Ferry in advance of the main body of his troops. They 
crossed in skiffs, and their object was to aid in laying a Pontoon 
bridge. With them was a man, named James Stedman, a native 
of Harper's Ferry, who acted as guide. The night was veiy 
stormy, blowing a gale down the Potomac, through the gorges of 
the Blue Ridge. Stedman and five soldiers of the 28th Penn- 
sylvania Regiment were in one skiff, when, through the severity 
of the gale or mismanagement, the skiff was iipset, and all six 
w'ere cast into the icy waves. They weie all drowned, and their 
bodies were never recovered. From that time "till Banks retreated 
from Winchester. (May 25th, 1862,) the town was held by the 



4v AJTWALS OF i:IAKI'EK"'e ITISRRY. 

i'edexalfc. When Banks was pursued to the Potomac, at Wil- 
Hainsport, a portion of the Confederate forces marched towards 
Harper's Ferry, and the garrison there, with all the citizens of 
Union proclivities, crossed over to Maryland. The Confederates, 
however, approached no nearer than Halltown, about four miles 
from Harper's Feri-y, and in a day or two retreated up the Valley. 
The town continiied to be the base of supplies for the armies of 
Shields, Bank? and Fremont, while they were operating against 
Jackson in the Valley, "an til after the second battle of Manassas,, 
General Lee decided to invade Maryland. It was tiien under 
the command of Colonel Miles. He had a force, which, includ- 
ing a large number under Colonel Tom Ford, of Ohio, posted on 
the Maryland Heights, amounted to twelve thousand. When 
General Lee, with the main body of the Confederate army, cross- 
ed the Potomac and marched on Frederick, General Jackson, 
with General A. P. Hill, attacked Harper's Ferry with_ a strong 
force. The siege commenced on Friday, September 12th, by the 
{Confederates opening with some batteries fi-om tiie Loudoun 
Heights. These were replied to by the Federal batteries on the 
Maryland Heights, which position was attacked in the rear by a 
portion of the Confederate army, then in Maryland. The ex- 
treme right of the Confederate aitny and the left of the Federals, 
approached very near to the north-eastern slope of those Heights, 
and CoL^nel Ford was attacked by a strong body detached for 
that pm-pose. A desultory, though destructive musketry fire was 
kept up all day on Saturday, September 13th, and thus Colonel 
Ford was placed, as he thought, in a very dangerous position. 
It is supposed that the force attacking him in the rear were 
South Carolinians, as after the surrender many graves were 
found with head boards bearing the names of soldiers from South 
Carolina. The bombardment of Harper's Ferry continued in the 
meantime, at intervals, until Colonel Ford abandoned his position 
on the Maryland Heights, and shut himself up in Hai-per's Ferry. 
His conduct on tliis occasion has been severely criticized, and in- 
deed he was cashiered for misconduct His judges, no doubt, 
knew more of the circumstances of the case than any civillian, 
but the writer can vouch that he saw, on several occasions during 
the War, what appeared to mim to be greater mismanagement on 
the part of others, when nothing was said or done in condemnation. 



ANNAl.B OK HARFEK'S FERRY. 47 

The abandoumeiit of the Maryland Heights was, of com'»e, a 
\ irtiial surrender of Harper's Ferry. On Monday morning, Sep- 
tember 15th, therefore, the Federal Hag was lowered and the gar- 
rison surrendered, with all their arms and stores. Colonel Miles 
was killed hy a shell innnediately after gi\'iug the order for sur- 
render, and his death saved him, in all probability, from a fate 
still worse to a soldier. Great indignation was felt at what was 
called his treason or timidity, and had he li^■ed, his conduct, no 
doubt, would have been the subject of a strict investigation, as in 
the case of Colonel Ford. 

Before the suri-ender, a small body of Federal Cavalry made a. 
gallant chai'ge and succeeded in making their escape, capturing 
and destroying an ammimition train, belonging to the Confeder- 
ates, and eifecting a junction with McClellan's army, then in po- 
sition on the Antietam. 

After the surrender, General Jackson marched towards Shep 
herdstown, and arrived at General Lee's position in time to take 
part in the great battle of the 17th of Septemder. He left Gen- 
eral A. P. Hill in connnand at Hai-per's Ferry, and he too de- 
parted the next day, and as ^vell as Jackson, effected a junction 
with Lee's main army, in time to aid in the decisive conflict. 

The surrender of Harper's Ferry, though a great event of the 
War, was not as important to the people of the place as others 
of less national interest. There was no very hard lighting, little 
loss of life, and no injury to the property of the citizens. While 
the siege w^as in progress, the battle of South Mountain was 
fought, September 14:th, and on the 17th of the same month took 
place the murderous, battle of Antietam. Both battle groimds 
are very near the town, and the thunders of artillery and the roll 
of musketry could be distinctly heard from those famous fields. 
When Lee retreated, the place was occupied by General McCleJ- 
lan, with his whole army, until late in November, when he 
marched farther South. . To a person standing on Camp Hil], 
(the ridge which divides Harper's Ferry from Bolivar) on a calm, 
dark night, during this period, nothing could exceed the beauty 
of the scene presented by the encampments. Myriads of lights 
and camp iires lit up the. Bolivar Heights and the intervening 
valley, wliile the;, Maryland Heights were equally aglow. The 
bands of the various regiments fi-equently regaled the people 



48 A^HKAXa Olf HAUPBIiVh I'fBRRY. 

with their music, and nothing that sight or sound coald. do to 
stir the imagination was wanting. Wl>.en (xeneral McClellan 
proceeded South he left a strong garrison, and the place was oc- 
cupied, without interruption,, hy the Federal army, 'till the sec- 
ond invasion of the North hj Generai liee, m Jnne, 1863. All 
this time, however, as all through the War, the roads leading 
from Harper's Ferry to Leesbiirg,, Winchester. Martitisburg and 
other places, were infested b}^ guerrillas in the CSonfederate ser- 
vice. The moat noted of the&e was a 3'outh,, aged about twenty 
years, and named John Mobiy.. He was a poor boy, and before 
the War used to drive for a negro butcher, named "foe Hagan, 
who resided on the Loudoun side of the Shenandoah, and. used 
to attend the Harper's Ferry market with his mea-t wagon,. Mobly, 
at this time, was a lubberly, simple-looking boy. and the pert 
youths of the town used tx> tease him. He gave no indication* 
at this time of tlie daring spirit that he afterwards exhibited; on 
the contrary, he appeared !o be cowardly When the War broke 
out, however, he joined a company of Confederate Cavalry raised 
in Loudoun county, and was detailed bj^ his captain as a scout to 
watch the Federals at Harper's Ferry.. With this roving commis- 
sion, he, with a few otliers, ranged the neighborhood of Neirs- 
ville and Hillsborough and sometimes came within sight of Har- 
per's Ferry. Like Dugald D'algetty, he is said, while obeying 
the commands of his superiors, to have kept an eye to his own 
private interests. He was the terror of arm3/' sutlers and wagon 
masters, and he is said to have captured many rich, prises, dis- 
playing the most reckless daring and committing some cold- 
blooded murders. Like other "gentlemen of the road," however, 
he had his admirers, and many anecdotes are told of his forbear- 
ance and generosity. On the 5th of April, 1865, his career 
ended, by his being shot by a party of three soldiers, who laj.^ in 
ambush for him. His body, with the head perforated by three 
bullets, was thrown across a horse's back, and conveyed m tri- 
umph to Harper's Ferry, where it was publicly exposed to view 
in front of Head Quarters. 

When Gen. Lee a second time invaded the North,,, on his dis- 
astrous Gettysburg campaign, again did the place change masters; 
and when Gen. Lee a second time retreated, the re-occupation of 
Harper's Ferry by the Federals, waa a matter of cojirse. Again^ 



\N.\AI,S ()|- II.VIM'EKS KEUliV. 4:9 

Oil llie -!-tli of 'luly, 18t)4-, were the Federals driven out l>y a }M)r- 
tioii of (ieiienil P'arly's forces, who peneti-ated into Maryland, 
and were, on the *.>tli of tlie same month, encountered by (ieiieral 
Lew Wallace, at ]Mono('acy .1 unction, about twenty-three miles 
east of riarpe)"'s Ferry, where a very sharp engagement took 
place, when the Federals retreated. On the -tth of July, while 
the Federals wei'e e\-a<'uating Harper's Ferry, and some of them 
were at Sandy Hook, preparing to retreat farther into Maryland, 
one of them, jmrtially intoxicated, went into the store of Mr. 
Egan. residing at that place, and asked for some tobacco, wdiich 
he recei\'ed. He refused, however, to pay for it, and on Mr. 
Egan's attempt to take the tobacco from him, a scuffle ensued. 
Mr. Egan succeeded in ejecting the soldier, and shut the door to 
keep liim from i-e-entering. At this moment, tlie proprietors 
only cliild. a very interesting girl of thirteen, noticed that the 
soldier's <•&]> was on tlie Hoor. it having fallen off in the struggle^ 
She raised the window, held out the cap, and called the soldier 
to take it. when the ruffian shot her dead instantly, the bullet 
from his piece enterbig her moiitli and coming out at the back of 
her liead. Tlie lamented (-olonel Mulligan, of the 23rd Illinois 
Regiment, liappened to pass at tlie time, and had the brute put 
under arrest. l)ut in the confusion of tlie following night he es- 
caped, and was never afterwards seen in that region. 

On the same day, a lady from North Mountain was killed, 
while standing (in High street, at a point exposed to the fire, 
which was kept u]) from the Maryland Heights by the Federals. 
A coloi'ed womaii was also killed on Shenandoah street, and a 
child mortally and a young lady seriously wounded in Bolivar, 
The lady Idlled on High street and the colored woman, received 
their death wounds from Minie bullets, and the Bolivar sufferers 
were wounded by ])ieces of a shell, which penetrated the house 
in which they were, and exploded in the midst of a family group. 
Another shell i)enetrated a (xovernment house, occupied by Mr, 
Magra"sv, on Higli street, passed directly through it, and then 
penetrated the house of Mr. Alexander Kelly, where it stopped 
without explodi)ig. A young lady was in the room when this 
unwelcome visitor intruded at Mr. Kelly's, but fortunately she 
received no injury. 

While the F'^ederal army was still disputing the possession O'f 



50 ANNALS oy IIABPEr'6 FERRY. 

Harper's Ferry with the Confederates, and keeping up a fire of 
artillery and mrisketry from the Maryland Heiglite, a singular 
accident took place in their midst. It will be remembered, that 
the State of Ohio, a short time before, furnished a force called 
"the hundred day men.'' A portion of these were doing duty 
on the Maryland Heights, on the present occasion. They were 
brave, bxit, as the following will show, inexperienced soldiers. 
A company of them were preparing dinnei*, and not having any- 
thing else convenieiit on v/hich to l)uild thei)- fire, they procured 
fi'om an ammunition wagon several large shells, on which they 
piled tJieir wood, which was soon in a blaze. Round the fire 
they all sat, each intent on watching his kettle, or sauce-pan. 
Soon a terrific explosion look place, which sent the pots and ket- 
tles flying o\'er the tree tops, and sadder still, killed and wounded 
quite a large number of the men. This is one instance of hun- 
dreds, which the writer saw during the War, of incredible reck- 
lessness produced by the excitement of the times ; and great as 
the loss of life then was, it is wonderful that it was not much 
more extensive. While ''the hundred day men" were stationed 
near Harper's Ferry, one of th'em presented himself to the com- 
mander of the post, a grim old warrior, that had seen a hundred 
battles, and had the reputation of being a martinet. On being 
asked what he wa:at.ed, he said he had a complaint to make of 
the commissary, who was treating liim and his companions very 
shabbily. "Why, (ieneral,'"' said the Ohioan, ''would you believe 
it ? we have been here ten days, and we have not had a bit of 
butter for our bread, nor a drop of milk for our coffee." The 
reader may imagine the wrath of the old campaigner. It is said 
to liave l)een something appalling, and it is related that, about 
that time, a figure was seen to retreat liastily from the General's 
tent, fear and an uplifted boot gi^'ing an impetus to his flight. 
After the Confederates had failed in their attempt on Wash- 
"T^/ington and retreated, again, and for tlie last/i^ime, did the Feder- 
' als get possession of the place. After the battle of Monocacy, 
General Sheridan was appointed to command in the Yalley of 
Virginia, and Iris brilliant and successive victories over Early, 
about Winchester, sa-^/ed Harper's Ferry, henceforth, from its 
acciistomed alternation of masters. During the winter of this 
yeiiT., [1 864) several military exeeiitions took place here, and, in- 



ANNALS Ol'- lIARrKl;''s FEKKV. 51 

deed, there is no phase of War tliat was not; at sonic time, 
experienced ])y this people. An idea may be formed of tlie manv 
vicissitiides the place experienced, from the fact that the Rail 
Road bridge was destroyed nine times, and as many times re- 
tresseled, from June, 1861, to the end of the War. Mr. Thomas- 
X. Ileskett, Assistant Master of Road for the Baltimore and 
Ohio Rail Road Company, snpei-intended every time its recon- 
stniction, and it is \ery creditable to him that, notwithstanding 
the many disadvantages under which he labored, and the hurry 
with which he was obliged to perform the work, no accident oc- 
curred to any of the thousands of Rail Road and wagon trains^ 
that passed ov^er it during those years. 

At every evacuation of the place, tlie wildest excitement per- 
vaded the town, and scenes of terror were exhibited, mingled 
frequently M'ith laughable occurrences. Few, however, at the 
time could command equanimity enough to appreciate the ludi- 
(irous sides of those pictures. A few days prior to a retreat, n 
vague rumor of approaching danger could be heard, and imme- 
diate preparations would be set on foot for a ''skedaddle." A&- 
the enemy approached the excitement would increase, and finally 
a motley crowd of fugitives of every shade of color could be 
seen tramping along the turnpike road to Frederick, knee-deep 
in mud, or enveloped in dust, and stewing with heat, according 
to the season. The most perfect Republicanism existed among 
them, and a practical illustration of the equality of mankind 
was exliibited, when a wallet, well supplied with "hard tack" and 
Bologna sausages, or a bottle of whiskey, conferred a better title 
to nobility than a genealogy, that could be traced to the Nor- 
man conquest. "Uncle Jake" Leilich's Hotel, in Frederick, was 
the head-quarters of the fugitive Harper's Ferrians on those oc- 
casions ; and assembled there, they continued to receive intelli- 
gence from Harper's Fei-ry about the movements of the "Rebs,'' 
until the danger had passed, and the Confederates had retreated 
up the Valley. Mr. Leilich deserves well of many a HarperV 
Ferrian, who got "strapped" on such occasions, and he is remem- 
bered by man}^ with feelings of gratitude. Those retreats were 
called "skedaddles," a term invented at the time by some wag. 
The inventoi", in all probability, was not aware that a similar 
word is used in Homer's Iliad to express the same idea, and p 



52 



AXNAJ.S (»K HARPERS KKRIJV. 



the origJiiHtoi- :>liould at any time read those pa^'cs, or l)ecoine 
aware of the coincidence by any other means, tlie informatiou 
will, no doubt, afford him the liveliest satisfaction. It nnist be 
confessed, liowever. that the termination '"daddle" is somewhat 
lacking in dignity, and sucli as wonld not be tolerated foi- a mo- 
ment in Father Homer's sonorons verses. We wonld. therefore, 
suggest a corre(-tion in the next edition. 

After the surrender of General Lee. at Appomattox, a garriso)i 
was left here, and for more than a year after the restoration of 
peace, were tlie slirill notes of tlie hfe and tlie boom of the drum 
heard on our street>. It may. with truth. 1)e said, that no place 
experienced more of the liorrors of the War than this. The hrst 
act of the tragedy was performed on our streets, and at no time 
was Harper's Ferry oft" the stage 'till the curtain fell. 

We will conclude this brief account of "Harpers Ferry during 
the War," by commenting on a fact, which, althougli it max be 
accidental, has certainly a strong signihcance for a rejecting 
mind. Of all the Government Imildings in the armojy enclo- 
sures l>efore the AVar. tlie only one that has escaped destruction, 
during that fearfnl struggle, is John Brown's famous Engine 
House. Of the occurrence that gave fame to this little building, 
there can be only one opinion — that it was a foolish undertaking, 
and an unwarrantable aggression on the so\ ereignty of the State 
of Virginia, foi- which the aggressors paid a just penalty. On the 
other hand, it must l)e admitted, that slavery was not only an 
evil, but a disgrace to the ''model Kepublic" of modern times. 
and this civilized centur>-. Who knows, then, but that Providence 
selected this fanatical eutluisiast, as its instrument in removing 
this anomalous stigma of slavery fi^om the State that boasts of 
having gi^'en birth to Washington, and of containing his ashes, 
and from the highly favored nation that can now, at least, proud- 
ly call itself "the land of the Free ^" The preservation of this 
buildinji' is certainlv somewhat sintrular, and it takes but a small 
stretch of imagination to prophecy, that it will be the Mecca to 
which many a pilgrim' of this and other lands will, in future 
years, journey, as to a shrine consecrated to liberty. John Brown 
was imprudent, and a violator of la^^-. and as before remarked, 
he deserved the severest punishment for his invasion of a sov- 
ereign State, and liis attempt at exciting a ser\ile insurrection : 



AXXALS i)V HAKPEk's KFKKY. OS 

lull he was /lokcsL and it iiiiist be admitted, that lie gave the 
strongest proof of sincerity, when he sai-i-iticed his life and the 
lives of his children, for the cause lie ad\ocated. Of course, many 
will dissent from this opinion, especially in the South, if, indeed, 
any considerable number will pei-use these unpi-etending pages; 
liut certainly all must admit, that John Brown's Raid caused a 
revolution, the most extraordinary in the annals of this <Tlobe, 
■<i\n\ one that showed the most unmistakable sicfn- M' Providential' 
interpositiftn. 



('HAPTER \'[. 

siisrcE t:e3:e -sj^j^si. 

In \6^>'l^ Mr. JJaniel -I. Vovnii;-, formerly Master Machinist at 
the Rifle Factorv, was sent from Washiuo-ton to take eharo'e of 
the Ordnance at this place. In 1861, when the Confederates first 
took possession of Ilarpei-'s Ferry, he managed to escape across 
the Pot»»mac into Maryland, although he was closely watched, 
on accoimt of his \vell known Uniou pi'Oclivities. Moreo\er, he 
was regarded as a first rate mechanic, and his ser\-ices wet-e eager- 
ly sought for the new ( "onfederacy. The writei- was then em- 
l){oyed at the Rail Road ofH(;e, alid one day Mr. ^'oung presented 
himself to him, and in a whisper imparted his intention of es- 
caping, if possible, enquiring, at the same time, Vhat the chances 
were of getting smuggled off in the Rail Road cai-s. The writer 
promised to aid him, but Mr. Young managed to escape by some 
otlier means, before a (;liance offei-ed itself on the Rail Road. In 
managing tlie Ordnance, he gave satisfaction to every officer who 
commanded at the post, and at the close of the Wai', he obtained, 
altogethei' by his own merit and the reputation he had gained, a 
commission of Captain in the i-egular ai-my. He was left in 
charge of what propeity the (Tovernment still possesses here, and 
never had the (.TOvernment a more faithful sei-vant, nor the peo- 
ple of Harpei-'s Ferry a better friend. .Vs a matter of com-se, 
great poverty has prevailed here since tlie Wai-. The only som'ce 
o\ revenue the people had. (the ai'inoi-y ) was desti-<»yed. and the^ 



AJNNALS OF H.\RPER> FKIlltV. 



direst distress lias ever since been experienced. All that could 
he done to alleviate the sufferings of the people, Captain Young 
lias done, and when he is removed, as he certainly must, at no 
distant period, he will take with him the Ionc and i-espect of thou- 
isands of friends, and better still, the blessings of the poor. 

Last session of Congress, a bill was passed, proWding foi* the 
?=.ale of the Cxovernment property at Harper's Ferry. It will, no 
doubt, be eagerly purchased for manufacturing purposes, and 
then will, perhaps, commence material for another history. The 
future historian may handle the subject better than the present, 
but unless he goes back and narrates what has been told in this 
volume, he will hardly have as interesting a snbjerf. 

With reference to the sale of the Government property, it may 
be remarked, that there is a suit now pending before the United 
States Courts, in which Mr. Jacol) Brown, of Charlestown, is 
Plaintiff, and Captain Young, as representative of the Govern- 
iinent. Defendant. The object of the suit is to recover thirteen 
acres of land now in possession of the Government, which tract, 
iineluding, as it does, the head of the Armory Canal, is of im- 
mense value. On what grounds Mr. Brown founds his claim, 
the writer knows not, except from rumor. It is believed that 
Mr. Brown claims that the description of the land, as given in 
the various deeds and wills, by which the property was trans- 
ferred to Mr. Harper, from him to^other parties, and by them to 
the Government, does not correspond with what the Government 
claims. Acting on this belief, Mr, Brown, some years ago, 
''entered" the portion which he now claims, and got a patent for 
it from the Land Registrar of the State of Virginia. Some years 
ago, he had a suit with the Government for possession of another 
tract, near the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah, in 
which he was defeated. IIoav far the uncertainty, respecting 
tlie issue of this suit, may tend to retard the sale of the Govern- 
iuent interest at this place, is not known, but it is to be hoped 
that the Government will soon take some step that will relieve 
the people from the terrible state of uncertainty in which they 
liave been placed for several years. Many persons at Harper's 
Ferrv are anxious for a rebuildino- of the armory, while manv 
■ >thers prefer its being sold. All, however, of course, desire 
-omet]itn:(; to be done, and it is to be hoped that, ere long, the 



hum of indubtry will be heard in a place so aduiirably situated 
for its successful prosecution. 

Notwithstanding the depressing circumstances of the times 
generally, and of this place in particular, there are some rays of 
light breaking through the gloom which, it is hoped, are the pre- 
cursors of a bright day in t^e future. In July, 1867, A, It. 
Herr, a large manufactiiJ'er, and the proprietor of what vr called 
"the Island of Virgiuius," sold his interest at Harper's Ferry to 
the enterprizing firm of Childs ik McCreight, of Springfield, 
Ohio. This property is beautifully situated or tlie Shenandoah, 
which bounds it on the south. On the north and east it is 
bounded by the canal, constructed to facilitate the navigation 
of the Shenandoah, and on the west by a waste of tb.e canal, 
communicating with the river. The Island containr- tiiirteeii 
acres, on which were, before the War, twentj^-eight neat dwell- 
ings, one flour mill, one cotton factory, one carriage factory, one 
saw-mill, one machine-shop, and osie foundry. It will be re- 
membered, that in October, 1861, shortly after the battle of Boli- 
var, a party of Confederates visited Harper's Ferry and destroyed 
the flour mill. From that time there was no business conducted 
on "the Island,'' until the sale of tlie property to the above men- 
tioned firm. These gentlemen, having availed themselves of the 
talents of Wilham F. Cochran, so well known for his thorough 
knowledge, theoretical and practical, of machinery, immediately 
commenced fitting up the Cotton Factory for a flour milL A 
large force of men was kept in employment for about fifteen 
months, preparing the building and putting up the machinery, 
under the directions of Mr. Cochran. The machinery is of the 
most approved description, put in motion by four turbine wheels, 
the power being that of three hundred horses. There are ten 
runs of burrs, which will turn out five hundred barrels of flour 
daily. On the whole, it is represented, by adepts in the business, 
as a miracle of ingenuity, and it has added greatly to the already 
well established fame of Mr. Cochran, Messrs. Childs & Mc- 
Creight, the proprietors of this desirable property, have won for 
themselves golden opinions among the people of Harper's Ferry, 
by their integrity and coui-t.eo'j,s demeanor, and it is to be hoped 
that they will meet with the success which their enter prize de- 
serves. Of the twenty-eight dwellings on the Island, nearly all 



5t» ANNALS OF HARPER'S VKKin'. 

are in exc<Blleiit repair, and the work performed on them, a^ well 
as on the liew ilonr mill, has given employment to many, who 
otherwise miiBt have snffered fVom extreme destitution. 

Many other improvements ha\e also heen made at Harper's 
Ferry since the close of the War, and gradnally the traces of 
that-fcinrii] conte.-t are disappearing. The Preshyterian ('hnrch 
was, during the War, put to the most ignoble p)urposes, the upper 
portion being used for a guard house, and the basement for a 
horse stable. The \ei)era])le Mr. Dutton, a gentleman of great 
piet}' and popularity, is no\v in charge of that congregation, and 
he h^&, by great exertions, succeeded in restoiing tlse l)U!lding to 
its pristine, neat appearance. 

The Catholic Chui-cli Jias also been repaired, thj'oug]i tbe en- 
ergy of the Iie\'. Ml'. Kain, a young clergyman of great promise, 
who, as well as the E.e\'. Mr. OTveefe, his assistant, is \'ery popu- 
lar with all classes and creeds in the community. They havC' 
established n classical aiid mathematical school, at the head of 
which is Mr. William Lynch, a very ethclent teacher. Tlie llev. 
Mr. (JTveeie, liowever, gi^■es this school great attention, and as 
that gentleman is understood toha\e ])een educated in Rome, and 
to have a thorough knowledge of the Italian, as ^vell as several 
other modern languages, the advantages this school enjoys are 
apparent, and in consetjuence, it is very well [)atroniz(xl. Through 
the exertions of Father Kain, a Hue bell has been purchased and 
suspended in the steeple, and its nmsical notes, at morning and 
evening, sound with a sweet solemnity tlirough the lonely glens 
of the Blue Ridge, admonishing all wlio hear them, to pause and 
worshi]) the Great Architect of the stupendous scenery that sur- 
rounds them. 

The Methodist Protestants haxe erected a new church on Camp 
Hill, which is un<ler the charge of the Jlex. Mr. Stuart, a very 
amiable and talented young clergyman, who is \ery popular in 
the commimity. Tliat denomination lost their church during 
the ^\^ar, through the Aandalism of soldiers of both armies, and 
the erection of a new church was a very heavy tax on the alread}' 
diminished resources of the congregation. They have, however, 
succeeded in erecting a Imilding,' which adds very nnicli to the 
appearance of the towii. and will accoiiiumdute a liirgc uuiubev 
of w(>]vhip]HMv. 



ANNALS OF HARFEr's FERBT. 57 

The Methodist Episcopal i congregation, a:. Harper's Ferry, also 
lost their chureli during t}ic War, and there is not a single trace 
of it left, but as there was another church belonging to the same 
denouiination in Bolivar, which escaped destrnction, they have 
not deemed, it nece.-sai'v to i-ehuild at Harpers Ferry. TJie f;on 
gregation is undei' the charge "f the Rev. Mr. Baker, a gentle- 
man of eloquence and great popularity. 

The LutJierar. Cliui-ch was used as an hospital dming the War. 
It lias l)6eii reiutxated ^ince the restoration of peace, and it is 
now iti excellent reytair. There •-. n<f resident minister of this 
denomination nt }larpe)'*s Ferry. 

Some time ag<-> a gentleman uaioeti Storer, residing in some 
pait of Ne\\- England, left a bequest of a large sum of money for 
the endowment of a college for the education of negroes. Har- 
per's Ferry was cJiosen as tiie site for this institution, and a char- 
ter Was obtained from tlte Legislature of West Virginia for it 
under the title of '"btorer College.""' The trustees purchased the 
farm of Mr. William Smallwood. in iJolivar, and it was supposed 
that thei-e the (;.;)llege would be erected. It is now understoovl 
that four oi' the Kiest ( i'.)vernment liouses at the place, with a large 
tract of l;;i!(l. iiuA-e l)eeii donated by the Government to "Storer 
(.V)lleg( . " and the trusiees alone know wliere the site of the col- 
lege -.\iil be. The people have no objection to this institution 
itse'ii. but for some reason great dissatisfaction is felt and expres- 
t-d uniong the (dtizens in regard to the subject. The writer does 
not pi'opose to give any opinion about this matter, and merely 
\nentions it as a part of the history of the place. The people 
held a meeting some time ago, and petitioned the State Legisla- 
ture to revoke the charter, but the writer is not aware of any 
action being taken by that body on the subject. The Rev. Mr. 
Brackett. who is in charge of the negro schools, and is connected 
with the "Storer < 'ollege" enterprise, is a courteous gentleman, 
and is highly respected by the people generally. Whatever the 
cause of the prejudice against the college, or the administration 
of its affairs may be. it does not appes,r to affect Mr. Brackett's 
i'ERsoNAi- popularity. 

Messrs. Matthew yiiiim, Daniel Ames and J. M. iJecaulne 
'lave erected three splendid houses since the war. The lower 
floors of t])e?e 5;0use> are occuDied as storerooins, and tl^e upper 



J I A K f Ji±t h Vb, tlK V , 



as dwelliug>.. Mr, Murtliagli Walsh has also erected a simiiai- 
hoiBC on the site of the old and well-known Doran store, and a 
frame Ijuilding- (put up towards the close of the war) supplies the 
place of the old "Wager Hotel." destroyed by the Federal troops 
in 1862. The hotel is now managed b}^ Mr. T. A. Kirwan, a 
young gentleman of courteous demeanor, and the house is ^'ery 
popular with the traveling public. To tourists desiring to visit 
the place, this hotel Avill be a disideratum. These buildings add 
greatly to the appearance of the town, and great credit is due to 
the enterprizing men who erected them. 

From the foregoing pages it will be seen that nature has done 
rauch for this place, and that industry and art improved its natu- 
ral advantages till the frenzy of war was permitted to mar the 
benelicent designs of Providence and the labor of three-cpiarters 
of a century. The people desire that capitalists should visit the 
place and judge foi* themselves, and that every well-meaning man 
in the country should be informed of its pjjipin' condition, with a 
»iew of bringing such a pressure on Congress as will induce them 
to make sojjce disposition of their property at this place, and open 
tiie way for pri\'ate enterprise, if they do not choose to re-estab- 
lish the armory. The sale of houses and lots in 1852 was made 
with the hojicc fide understanding that it vv'as the intention of the 
Government to continue the manufacture of arms at the place, 
and although no person holds the Government responsible for the 
destruction of the armory, it is confidently hoped that a sense of 
humanity will induce Congress to spesdv action for thjf; relief 

OF THF PKOPI.f;. 



AlECBOTES OF HARPER\S-PBRB.IANS, 

HARD" ON THE AUTHOR 

All men are prone to vanit}', and the vn-iter of the foregoing 
chronicles, it is to be presumed, has more or less of it, like "the 
rest of mankind."' Notwithstanding this, he must admit that he 
is no Adonis, nay, more, he is homely- His figure ii- lank, and 
singularly deficient in ernbotvpoint. Hi.-^ face is pale, and has too 
many salient points, to allow him any pretensions to beauty. 
During the War, he was in the employment of the Government, 
as forage-master. At this period, his lack of comeliness was 
atill more apparent than at present, as, in addition to his natural 
deficiency of good looks, he was in bad health, and \eiT poorly 
dressed — the nature of his employment, precluding the possi- 
bility of his keeping himself tidy. He used to carry a haver- 
sack, slung around^ him, to hold his forage orders, and otli.er pa- 
pers. At the best of times lie is a little eccentric in his tippear 
ance, and with the acc&ssories above mentioned, he used to impress 
strangers, ^enerallv, with the idea that he was an odd "genius." 
One day he was in very bad humor, something having gone 
wrong, as everything bid about that time.. He encountered an 
Irishman, who thought he carried whiskey for sale in his haver- 
sack. Pat asks: "Wliat have 3.^ou got for sale in that Avallet?" 
at the same time giving him a knowing wvak.. Your historian 
replied peevishly : "I have nothing for sale bu.t myself, and if I 
can find anybody fool enough to hny me, he can have me at a 
bargain." "Oh! be dad," repKed'Pat, "you can soon find a mar- 
ket, if you are for sale, for I met a.n ould Dutchman, a while 
ago, buying up ould rags and bones." Tour historian had busi- 
ness in another quarter about that tune, and there wa.suo farther 
conversation. 



THOSE WHO F^IIVE IN tS^LASS HOUSES SriOUI^D NOT 
THROW STONES. 

There was once a Superintendent at Harper'B Ferry armory , 
who professed to be a deadly enemy to whiskey drinldng, al • 
though he could enjoy a "smile" himself, as well as the next 



by ANNALS OF fTARPKK S FI-:RRY. 

man. He, and another officer of tlie anuoi-y, agreed to send for 
a live ijjallon keg of pure Monoiigaliela. The Superintendent's 
name was not to be known in the transaction, but the keg was to 
be consigned to the 'i>ther gentleman, when tliey were to divide. 
About thiiS time, one of the best mechanics in the armory got on 
a epree, which lasted several days. Tlie Superintendent, true to 
Ms professions, discharged him. Wiicn the mechanic sobered off, 
fee presented himself to the Superintendent, at his ofhce. expres- 
sing regret, and promising to do better in the future. The Su- 
perintendent was inexorable, and addi-essed the culprit thus : — 

"Mr. L ., you are a good mechanic, and 1 am sorry to lose 

yoa, but 1 have made \ip my mind that no driidving man shall 
have e-.nployment in this armory. You can, therefore, consider 
yourself as finally dismissed." At this moment there was a 
knock at tlie door, and, on its being opened, the gentleman to 
whom the consignment was made, and who was partner in the 
transaction, presented himself, and said aloud: "Sii", tlie keg has 
come; I paid the freight on it. and 1 sent it to your liouse." A 
better feeling immediately came over the Superintendent, and 

tarniiig to the oiiendiug inechauic, he said: "'Mr. L -, you can 

go to work, l.ift; you must promise to drink no more Avhiskey." 
M. L DID go to work, but he continued to get drujik, at in- 
tervals, until tlie day of his deatli. He did so with impunity, as 
long as the above mentioned Superintendent remained at Har- 
per's Ferry, as the latter, no doul:)t, had a vi\-id recollection of 
the affair of the keg, and did not choose to have the subject re- 
vived. 



A SERIES OF MISHAPS. 

There Ivy^d once at Harper's Ferry an (jld gentleman of very 
peculiar Iiabits. He was very courteous, especially to the ladies, 
unless when mucii excited by anger, when he became very abusive. 
He had a peculiar manner of speaking, stopping at every Avord, 
as if at a period, so that it would appear that every woi'd with 
him was intended for a sentence. He was very fond of his '"toddy," 
and when iimder its influence, he spoke with still greater hesita- 
tion, as if he was veiy anxious to be impressi\'e, and was choosing 
his words with extra deliberation. 

There is a certain street-crossing at Harper's l*eri-y. wliidi. in 



ANNALS OF HAIM'Kr's KEKKV. ^1 

wet weathei", is always very muddy. One of the SuperintendentB, 
therefore, caused three or four lieavy blocks of circular stone to 
be placed at equal intervals across this place, for the aecommod.a 
tion of pedestrians. One evening, the subject of this anecdote, 
passed that way and stepped from block to block, getting across 
without soiling his shoes, although the crossing was veiy muddy 
at the time. Aftei* dark he retm'ned, but having met some friends 
in the mean time, and imbibed freely, he did not make as sure a 
thing of it as at his iii'st crossing. Being somewhat abstracted 
fi'om tlie cause abo^•e mentioned, and it being veiy dark, instead 
<»f stepping on the stones he stepped over, and between them. 
Arrived on the other side, he thus soliloquized : "I — should — 

like — ver\' — much — to — know — who — the — d 1 — removed — 

those — grinding — stones — this — evening.'' Immediately after he 
ran against a coav, that was straying about the streets, and his vision 
not being good, he feared it might be a lady. He, therefore, took 
off his hat and apologized, by saying : ''I — humbly- -beg — ^your — 
]:)a]'don — Madam.'" Not receiving any reply, he looked more 
closely, and discovered what he had encoimtered, wliich did not 
improve his temper. In a few minutes he ran against an old lady^ 
and being determined not to be fooled ^^A?^ time, he struck her 
with his umbrella, remarking : '"I— wsh — people — would — keep 
— their — infernal — old — cows — off — the — streets." It is said, that 
when he struck the old lady, he addressed to her some epithets, 
more forcible than elegant, and next day, when she complained to 
his wife of his conduct, he was obhged to make her a still more 
humble apology than lie had made to the cow. 



WAS HE HIMSELF OR SOMEBODY ELSE ? 

The following anecdote may, perhaps, be familiar to some of 
our readers. The writer saw it in print some years ago, but it was 
not credited to Harper's Feriy. As it is really ouj" property, and 
as it claims the right to be inserted in om* chronicles, we will pub- 
lish it, at tlie ]-isk of offending our readei-s, by telling them a stale 
joke. 

Some years ago, there resided here an old chap, whom we 
will call Tom Brown, although that was not his real name. He 
owned a hoi^e and cart, and used to do a good deal of hauling. 
One night as he was returning home, he fell adeep in his carfc* 



62 A>n[Ai.s C)r hakpbk's fekky. 

ha'VTiig imbibed a little more than bis usrjal quantum. The horse 
stood still, and some of the "boys" passing that way, and seeing 
"the sitnation," concluded to play a prank on Uncle Tom. They 
disengaged the horse from the cart and led it to a neighboring 
shed, leaving the cart, with Tom in it. Some time in the night 
Tom woke up, and missed the hoi-se. His intellect was somewhat 
conf-iised l^y the potations of the day before and his subsequent 
sleep, and the absence of the horse tended still more to mystify 
him. He might have accounted for the circumstance on the 
'hypothesis, that he had arrived at home the previous evening and 
stabled his horae, without his remembering it. I»ut tlien what was 
HE doing in the cart, and liovv- did it get to be so far fi-om home ? 
After some time spent in profound meditation (_>n tins problem, he 
gave it up, and in the absence of an.y better solution, concluded 
^ that he was not at all the man he supposed liimself to be, or at 
least he considered it doubtful. He then soliloquized : "Am I 
Tom Brovra, or am I not '? If 1 am Tom Brown, I have lost a 
horse, and if I am not, I have made a cart." At what time in 
the morning he was able to establish his own identity, is not mea- 
tioned in the public records, but that he did so, we have ample 
testimony in the fact, that next day he oiffered a rev/ard for the 
discovery of the pe^t-petrators of the joke. 



A POLITICAL .lANUS. 

Some years ago, there were two mechanics at Harper's Ferry 
Armory — one an ardent Whig and the other a staunch Demo- 
ci-at. There was an important election close at hand, and, 
of 'bourse, frequent and heated arguments arose between the ad- 
herents of the two great parties, that at tliat time contended for 
the handling of the public purse, ISo two had more frequent 
discussions tharj^ those refeixed to, and although they were gen- 
erally friendly enough towards each other, whenever the . subject 
of politics was started, they wei'e sm-e to ''pitch into" one another 
imsparingiy. One morning they had a very angTy debate, and 
parted in high dudgeon. When they stopped work for dinner, 
the Democrat picked up a newspaper, mth which he amused him- 
self antil the houi- anived for resuming work. In the paper lie 
saw an account of a Ltisus Natiu-tE that appeared somewhere. It 
was ail ]nfa,nt borti with two faces,, one in front and the other at 



ANNALS (yv hakpkk'.< i-j;k);y. fvi 

the back of the head, b'ke the representations of tlie (iocl Jamis 
we see on Koman medals. He read the account fo)" se\'era] who 
were standing near, among whom was his friend, the Wliig. 
"What a wonder!" e.x claimed the Democrat, ''a child with two 
faces !" "Oh !" said the Whig, "take good care of liim, and tj^ 
to raise him, for lie'll make an excellent Locofoco/' 

DID NOT RECOGNIZE AN OLD FRIEND IN A NEW GARB. 

There is an old citizen at llarpei-'s Feri-y, ^^'}lo has resided there 
a great many years. He is very popular, on account of his genial 
disposition and love of innocent fim. He once owned a very fine 
cow, which he prized very highly, and fed regularly several times 
in the da}'. Some wags concluded to play a j)rank on him, and 
one night they painted the cow all over, of a color altogether dif- 
ferent from the hue with which she was provided by i*^ature. In 
the inorning, as usual, he provided a tul) of slo]> for his pet, bnt 
was astonished that she did not make hei- appearance, as she was 
actiustomed to do, in anticipation of a good ])reakfast. Instead of 
HIS, however, a strange cow presented herself, but was, of course, 
refused and driven off. She returned, and was again driven off. 
He started his servant to look for ins (Avn cow, but the colored 
boy returned, after several horn's' search, with no tidings of the 
lost one. All this time the strange cow persisted in presenting 
herself before him, until he, getting angr}', picked up a stick and 
BEAT her away, notwithstanding which, she would return. At 
last he turned in and gave her a severe drubbing, so severe, in- 
deed, that she changed color, the stick, at eveiy application, re- 
moving some of the paint, for it was his own cow at last. Finally 
he beat her into her natm-al appearance, and thus recognized her. 
It has been many years since this occurred. l)ut it i?; >till "poked 
at him,"' and will be as long as he lives. 



(lentle reader, who hast followed me through the foregoing 
pages, a word in thine ear. I feel that you and I are fiiends, and 
that we are connected by the strongest tie that can bind man to 
his fellow — self-interest and a i-eciprocity of favors. You have 
purchased >iy book and replinished my purse, and J have, it is 
hoped, added to your stock of idea;;. I will remark, that I lieartlly 



b4 ANNALS OF HAKPKKs KKK,!-:'/ . 

wisb Vui' did act want the latter as imicii as J did Hie ionuef. Ijiit 
If yon did, I advise you to read my !)ook again. >>y any other \\m 
can find. I feel so friendly to you, that I ^vill tell yon somethuig 
of great importaiice. There was once a city .sitnated. not uetween 
TWO lulls, like llai'i[)ers Ferry, bnt on seven. It was calle<l 
Rome, and was fully as large and famous as Harper's Ferry. Lil 
the latter, it rose, declined and fell, and now presents a mela: 
choly picture of fallen grandeur. At one period of its existence . 
a great writer, named Li^y, a citizen of Rome, \vrote its histor 
and the few books of his wi'itings that remain, go plainly to sh*> 
that lie did full justice to the subject. Most of his books are l(v 
however, and the literati, all over the world, have for centiiri- 
bewailed the loss. Would it not be well, tlieu. to guard agai' ■ 
such a calamity in tiie case of Hai-per's Ferr}- ( It is liard to say 
what ruthless tribe of Goths or Yandals may make n raid some 
day and desti'oy your copy of tiie 'vVimals:" the same misfortune 
may befall your neighbors and posterity may l)e deprived of the 
exquisite pleasure you have enjoyed in reading my pages. 1 would 
counsel you then, to indnce everybody you can. to purchase uiy 
book;, so that in case of invasion, thei'c may be as many chauce> 
as })ossible, for its ]>eiug transmitted tt) future generations. [>ut 
you may ask, like the Iiislunan. what has posterity done for you 'i 
I will anticipate the question and reply, by asking-, what did Aor 
do for yom- ancestoi*s ? They f miiished for you a Josephus, a 
Livy, a Gibbon, a Hume and a host of other famous historians. 
Will you then refuse to unboni generations the t^ame boon that 
YOU received fi-om yom* ancestoi'S, and deprive them of the many 
advantages that a perusal of "the Annals" wdll be sure to afford, 
if you will do your duty ? But I feel that I do you an injustice 
by tlie mere suspicion, and if I could I'ecall what T have said, I 
would do so cheerfully. There is such a thing as too much zeal, 
however, and for the sake of hiunanity. I would suggest that yon 
observe a little moderation in your demands for the book. Rrint- 
ers atid Express Agents must eat and sleep, like othei" people, and 
I would be sony to leam of anybody's being worked t»j death in 
supplying the demand, which I fear will be clamorous. Tliis idea 
haunts me, and it iis tb.e only draw-bat'k to the pleasure I feel in 
ro.y anticipated triiimiph,. 



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